Agriculture
Farmers Want FG To Revive Water Canals
Worried by near abandonment of the Sourth Chad Irrigation Project (SCIP) in Borno State, farmers in the state have appealed to the federal government to revive the water canals in order to boost farming activities in the site.
The farmers who made the call in a chat with our correspondent said that the project covering about 67,000 hectares of land is lying waste due to lack of irrigation water.
Some of the farmers hold our correspondent that they could only cultivate crops instead of wheat, maize and rice as planned by the federal government at the inception of the project in early 70s.
Malam Modu Isa, said he used to harvest at least 300 bags of rice and wheat on the farm every year when there was irrigation water.
According to him, with the recording of water inflow from the Lake Chad and inability of the Chad Basin Development Authority (CBDA) to pump water into the farm, he has shifted to vegetable production.
“The small water supply that we are currently using is being pumped by the CBDA. We hope that they will continue to improve on the supply,” Isa said.
In his reaction, the CBDA Acting Managing Director, Alhaji Mustapha Shameh, told our correspondent in Maiduguri that the authority had made efforts to ensure that the project was actualised.
“The SCIP is the largest irrigation scheme of the authority. The project was planned to irrigate about 67,000 hectares of land.
“It was supposed to be in three phases the first phase having 22,000 hectares in Kirenowa, the second involving 27,000 hectares in Ngala and the third having 18, 000 hectares in Baga,” Shameh said.
He explained that the project was located along the Lake Chad basin for easy access to water from the basin.
Shameh said that the project was targeted at producing large quantities of rice, maize and wheat with the use of the water from the Lake through a three-km in-take canal.
He said that the canal was connected to a pumping station at Kirenowa near Marte, headquarters of Marte Local Government Council.
“The farmlands were expected to get water through electrically-driven pumps under the project, which made CBDA to contract a power house with a combined output of 30 megawatts of electricity to source for power,” he explained.
Shameh, however, lamented that the high cost of fueling the power house located at New Marte, had forced the authority to abandon the facility.
“The plant in the house has a daily consumption of about 15,000 to 20,000 litres of gas when fully operational; additionally the engines require special blend of lubricants of about 150 drums per day,” he said.
Shameh said that the inability of the CBDA to get the project connected to the national grid had equally made it difficult for the project to function optimally.
According to him, the big time farmers targeted by the Federal Government had also failed to embrace the project, leading to the setback.
“We have been trying to run skeletal services at the project site but the failure of big time farmers who are the main targets of the project have been one of our setbacks.
“In the meantime, we have been encouraging the peasant farmers to form cooperatives, to enable them to secure bank loans to be able to fit into the project,” Shameh said.
Our correspondent reports that the federal government decided to develop large-scale irrigation agriculture to avoid dependence on rain-fed agriculture, due to the drought and famine that occurred in the northern part of the country in 1972/73.
This development, led to the establishment of Decree No. 32 and 33 of 1972, which created the Chad Basin Development Authority and Sokoto-Rima River Basin Development Authority as pioneers.
Federal Government and the Ogun State Government, on Wednesday, distributed farm inputs to farmers as part of effort to address food security challenge.
The State Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Toyin Ayo-Ajayi, during the flag-off ceremony of Inputs Redemption Under The National Agricultural Growth Scheme-Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP), in Ogun State, disclosed that beneficiaries of the gesture were primarily rice, maize and cassava farmers across the State.
Ayo-Ajayi commended the Ogun State Government for partnering with the government at the centre for the effort in supporting farmers with inputs that would bring about yieldings for local consumption and likely exportation.
She noted that government is supporting rice, cassava and maize farmers with inputs worth N212,000; N189,000 and N186,000 respectively.
The Permanent Secretary in the State Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs Kehinde Jokotoye, who represented the Commissioner in the Ministry, Bolu Owotomo, stated that traditional farmers are critical in food production, hence the need to encourage and support them with inputs that would bring about desired results during harvesting.
Owotomo said: “Let us make good use of this opportunity, so that the success of this phase will make farmers benefit more from the state and federal governments of Nigeria.”
Earlier, State Coordinator, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Oluwatoyin Ayo-Ajayi, appreciated the present administration for partnering with the federal government for the initiative, adding that the programme is designed to support farmers at the grassroots level in cassava, rice and maize with inputs such as, seeds, pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, to boost their production and enhance their livelihood.
The Niger State Government has mapped out 10,000 hectares of farmland in Gbapo Community of Katcha Local Government Area of the State for smallholder farmers to benefit from the state government’s agricultural intervention programme.
Two thousand out of the 10,000 holders of the farmlands have already received inputs.
At a flag-off ceremony in Yinti Village, the facilitator of the programme, Shinkafan Nupe, Malam Idris Usman Makanta, assured the farmers of increased distributions to the mapped-out ten thousand (10,000) farmlands if farmers respond positively.
He explained that the commencement of the two thousand is to measure the positive response of farmers before obtaining full-scale support.
Malam Makanta stated that this initiative aligns with the farmers’ initial commitment through Niger Foods, whose mission is primarily geared towards establishing efficient and profitable agricultural businesses to support the present administration of Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago’s quest to boost agricultural productivity in the state.
He also commended Niger Foods for their steadfastness and resilience in the effective implementation of the input financing scheme.
Makanta reiterated the commitment of the State Governor in making judicious use of the arable land in the state.
Shinkafan Nupe, therefore, urged the farmers to support the Governor by using the inputs wisely so that the dream can be actualised.
The Gombe State Government has empowered a total of 573,429 farmers and entrepreneurs under the 4th phase of the GO-CARES programme.
The programme was officially flagged off by Governor Inuwa Yahaya in another major step towards alleviating poverty and supporting the state’s vulnerable populations.
The Governor, while inaugurating the disbursement in Akko Community of Akko Local Government Area, restated his administration’s commitment to the welfare of vulnerable citizens in the state.
He was represented by the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Salihu Baba Alkali, who is also the Chairman of the Steering Committee on GO- CARES implementation.
“The 4th phase of GO-CARES will directly and indirectly impact a total of 573,429 citizens across the state. Of these, 152,429 individuals will benefit directly through cash transfers, livelihood grants, agricultural inputs, and operational grants to small businesses”, he stated.
The Governor added that, “421,000 people will be indirect beneficiaries through infrastructural projects such as classroom blocks, healthcare facilities, WASH services, and rural infrastructure projects like culverts and drainages”.
Yahaya, reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that the state’s most vulnerable citizens are not left behind in the state’s development.
According to him, “Earlier this year, on June 25, 2024, we flagged off the distribution of improved seedlings, fertilizers, and herbicides to less privileged farmers in Malam Sidi, Kwami Local Government Area, signaling the commencement of the 4th phase implementation of GO-CARES under Result Area 2”.
The Governor reiterated that these initiatives have had a significant impact on the livelihoods of beneficiaries and the overall agricultural sector.
He explained that, “Today’s ceremony marked the simultaneous launch of activities under all three GO-CARES Result Areas for the 4th phase. These areas include: State Cash Transfer Grants: 2,500 direct beneficiaries; Labour Intensive Public Works: 2,700 direct beneficiaries; Livelihood Grants: 10,000 direct beneficiaries; and Basic Services: 405,000 indirect beneficiaries”.
