Kano State To Boost Irrigation Farming With Over 20 Dams
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State has pledged to judiciously utilize the over 20 existing dams in the state to boost irrigation farming and supplement the rainy season.
Yusuf made the pledge in Kano on Tuesday while receiving the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph T. Utsev, who is in Kano on a familiarization visit.
Represented by his Deputy, Comrade Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, the Governor said the move aimed to provide food and cash crops for industries, provide employment for rural communities, improve livestock activities, reduce flooding incidences, and provide recreational centers across the state.
Tabling challenges faced by Kano State in its water sector before the minister, the Governor disclosed that most dams built in Kano had been existing for close to 40 to 60 years, and that most of them had developed structural issues, while some had been turned into refuse dumps, thereby polluting the water and making it hazardous for consumption.
He explained that his administration had taken a giant step towards maintaining the dams and solicited the support and intervention of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation to tackle the challenges.
“We have inaugurated a committee saddled with the responsibility of assessing the state of the affected dams, and we are waiting for their reports on how to respond to the challenges,” he said.
While assuring of total cooperation with the Water Ministry, the governor assured that the state government was in the process of developing over 1,000 hectares of land at Watari, Thomas, and Jakara Irrigation schemes.
Earlier speaking, the Minister for Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph T. Utsev, said he is in Kano on a familiarization visit to view the activities of agencies and parastatals under his ministry, such as the Hadejia-Jama’are River Basin Development Authority (HJRBDA).
Utsev also disclosed that his visit seeks to explore the requests of the state government in order to augment them with his ministry’s resources to achieve President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He further said that they are also in Kano to see the extent to which the ministry’s facilities are being maintained, as well as to collaborate with the state government towards strengthening the capacity of the river basin and increasing funding for the expansion of programs on the ground for execution.
He noted that the collaboration with the state government would pave way for providing portable drinking water for the people of Kano State as well as boost irrigation farming and other water-inclined activities.
Also speaking, the State Commissioner for Water Resources, Ali Haruna Makoda, said that prior to the coming of the Abba Yusuf administration, about 85 percent of highlift pressure pumps were not working, but that about 55 percent had been restored and were pumping water to households in Kano under the present administration.
