The Federal Government has called for closer collaboration and partnership with state governments to expand cultivation of irrigable lands for food production, which is a crucial step towards achieving the nation’s food security goals under President Bola Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, made the call during a familiarisation tour to the River Basin Development Authority in Ilorin, Kwara State. According to a statement signed by Head, Media and Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, Funmi Imuetinyan, the essence of his visit to the River Basin Development Authority was to assess ongoing projects, programmes and challenges within the Authority.
Utsev pledged the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthen the operations of the 12 River Basin Development Authorities in Nigeria by enhancing their capacities and securing increased funding to enable them fulfill their mandates under the current administration. He said, “the Federal Government’s commitment to water resources projects development in Kwara State include completed dams for irrigation, various irrigation schemes, flood and erosion control projects, rehabilitation of urban water schemes, empowerment and extension services, rural water supply through boreholes and agricultural land acquisition, among others. The governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrazak, stressed the need for seamless collaboration between the State and the River Basin Authorities to avoid duplication of projects, as he called for the immediate dredging of Rivers Niger and Benue to address food production, seasonal farming and recurring flooding challenges.
