By Fatima Saka
President Muhammadu Buhari has commissioned 5,780 of the rehabilitated and expanded Hadeija Valley Irrigation Scheme (HVIS), Auyo in Jigawa State which was flagged off for commencement of work in 2018 by him. The rehabilitation and expansion work on this project was completed last year and subsequently handed over to the farmers to own and manage.
The President, while commissioning projects last Tuesday in Jigawa, said that among the reasons why the government will continue to support this project is to irrigated agriculture that will provide all-year-round socio – economic and food production activities, thereby facilitating sustainable economic prosperity.
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With great excitement the residents of Hadeija and environs, particularly the Hadeija Farmers Association and Water Users Association (WUA), whose main source of water for their all year-round farming season comes from the irrigation scheme and the potential for enormous employment generation for the teaming youth which is capable of guaranteeing Nigeria’s food security.
The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Water Resources carried out the rehabilitation and expanded Hadeija Valley Irrigation Scheme supported by the World Bank under the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria (TRIMMING) project over a period of three years. It is one project that will no doubt ameliorate the sufferings of the entire Farmers in Hadeija and subsequently increase their economic potency whilst adding value to their lives.
According to the President, ‘we are therefore convinced that the key to our quest for economic diversification and survival lies in increased food production, including dry season farming. A sound and sustainable irrigated agriculture will create more jobs and wealth. It will usher in sustainable economic prosperity because we will produce what we consume as a nation and generate foreign exchange by exporting any surplus.
In his welcome address, the Minister of Water Resources Engr. Suleiman H. Adamu, reiterated that the project was expected to achieve a significant increase in net incomes on the average household from N259, 000 to N833, 000 per annum (before irrigation costs) but when irrigation cost were deducted, the overall farm net income would equal to an average of N781, 000 per annum which was more than three times the average level of a typical farm in the area before the advent of the scheme.
Adamu said the commissioning was a clear demonstration of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources’ commitment towards the implementation of Mr. President’s agenda to transform Nigeria into a strong and virile economy in food sufficiency.
