The Federal Government says it will spend N12.5 billion on Transforming Irrigation Management In Nigeria (TRIMING) in Gombe State and some parts of Borno.
Alhaji Mijinyawa Yahaya, the Commissioner for Water Resources disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe on Monday.
He said the project would cover the key areas such as the Integrated Water Resources Management Plan of the Gongola sub-basin, dam safety and operations improvement of the Dadin-Kowa dam as well as the development of irrigation and drainage systems for all year round agricultural production.
“Dadin-Kowa dam is one of the irrigation projects selected for construction in order to exploit the full potential of the dam,” he said.
He said that Dadin-Kowa selection was in line with the Federal Government’s desire to achieve sustainable growth in agriculture through the TRIMMING project.
Yahaya said based on the studies conducted by the TRIMMING project, the irrigation component of the studies identified a total irrigable area of about 5, 200 hectares downstream of Dadin-Kowa Dam.
He said that out of this number, 2, 000 hectares can be fully irrigated by gravity while the remaining 3,000 hectares by pumping.
The commissioner said the 2, 000 hectares by gravity had been selected for immediate construction and the contract had been signed, adding that works were expected to commence before the end of March and to be completed in two years.
He said after the construction of the irrigation component, the government would hand it over to the farmers fully equipped with a gravity irrigation system for all year round agricultural production.
The commissioner said that 16, 560 metric tonnes of cereals represented by rice and about 55,200 metric tonnes of vegetables represented by tomatoes with a combined value of N3.6 billion would be realized.
Others are employment and creation of about 10, 000 jobs for farming families with over 60, 000 direct beneficiaries will be created as well significant contribution to national food security and reduction in poverty in rural and urban areas. (NAN)
