KANO – The Federal Government is collaborating with Jigawa Government to clear typha grass on irrigation canals and on Hadejia River, Alhaji Abdu Dahiru, Managing Director, Hadejia-Jama’are River Basin Development Authority (HJRBDA), has said.
Dahiru made the disclosure on Sunday in Kano in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He said the exercise was carried out with the use of mechanical harvester provided by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources.
He said that Jigawa Government provided fuel and personnel for the exercise while officials of the authority operated the harvester.
Dahiru said the clearing was necessary to improve the flow of water in irrigation canals and on river Hadejia. [eap_ad_1] “The clearing will also reduce the menace of quealea birds due to the destruction of their roosting sites,’’ he said.
The MD said the authority had so far developed 5, 300 hectares out of 25,000 hectares of irrigable area at the Hadejia Valley Irrigation Project.
He said the irrigation project is a multi-purpose project that supports crop and livestock production and the development of fisheries in the predominantly farming communities living around the project site.
He added that with the development of the 5, 300 hectares of irrigable area, farmers would be able to produce about 80, 000 metric tons of food and cash crops valued at over N2.6 billion annually.
“The Hadejia Valley Irrigation project is making significant impact on poverty alleviation, employment generation, food security and rural development within and around the project area,’’ Dahiru said. (NAN)
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