This ambitious project was disclosed at the 30th regular meeting of the National Council on Water Resources and Sanitation organised by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation in Abuja penultimate Monday.
According to one of the reports at the meeting by the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-Pocket Project for January 2024, anchored by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security showed that four major crops: wheat, rice, maize and cassava were currently being cultivated in large proportions starting with wheat.
The Nigerian Government it further said would particularly focus its plans to make the 2024 dry season farming as robust as possible to create the envisioned 5-10 million jobs across the country
To this end agro-dealers were reported to have expressed optimism that the cost of food items could drop in the coming months following the cultivation of about 323,000 hectares of farmlands across the country with the support of the Federal Government.
It stated that the document they have sighted emanating from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, indicated that the targeted hectares being put into cultivation under the 2023/2024 dry season farming for the various crop value chains were wheat, 123,000 hectares; rice, 150,000 hectares; maize, 30,000 hectares; and cassava, 20,000 hectares.
Commenting on this year’s dry season farming during his address on Monday at the National Council on Water Resources, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanisation, Shehu Aliyu, said some programmes had been introduced to ensure the successful implementation of the 2024 dry season farming and create millions of jobs.
He said, “In resolve to align with the state of emergency on food security declaration and the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration, I wish to inform you that the ministry has introduced the following three flagship programmes: Water for Expanded Irrigated Agriculture Programme; Partnership for Expanded Irrigation Programme; and River Basin Strategy for Poverty Alleviation.
“The implementation of the above-named programmes has kick-started with the launch of the dry season farming covering a total of 120,000 hectares of land in Jigawa State in November 2023 by the Federal Government in collaboration with Jigawa State under the National Wheat Development Programme.
“In view of the foregoing, some RBDAs (River Basin Development Authorities) have already leveraged on the current intervention to launch dry season farming within their catchment areas.”
According to Aliyu, the remaining RBDAs, which are yet to do so, are encouraged to follow suit.
The permanent secretary further explained that the major components of the declaration of a state of emergency on food security with respect to the water and sanitation sector include the fact that “all matters pertaining to food and water availability and affordability as essential livelihood items be included within the purview of the National Security Council”.
He said there was a need for an urgent synergy between the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation to ensure adequate irrigation of farmland and to guarantee all year round food production.
He noted that the declaration also required the ministry to “engage our security architecture to protect the farms and the farmers such that farmers can return to the farmlands without fear of being attacked”.
“The 12 River Basin Development Authorities should ensure the planting of crops during the dry season with irrigation schemes that will guarantee continuous farming production all year to stem the seasonal scarcity,” he added.