The Niger Basin Authority recently in Abuja had it extraordinary session preceding the 50th anniversary where the impact of the river basin in the past years were appraised. JOHN OBA, at the event finds out the benefits of the basin on agriculture in the nine member countries.
In the 1960s, countries of the Niger Basin Authority which consist of Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’lvoire, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria and Niger decided to coordinate their efforts in exploiting the basin’s natural resources with the aim of promoting cooperation among member countries to ensure integrated development of resources.
The organization originally defined its mission as the cooperative management of water resources, most notably, but not limited to, the Niger River. While centering of water and hydroelectric resources, the NBA nations use the organization to harmonize development of energy, agriculture, forestry, transport, communications, and industrial resources of the member nations.
Though not the original focus of the NBA, environmental protection from the threats of desertification, deforestation and pollution of the rivers by agriculture and industry have become a major theme of their work.
All the member countries of the organization have agriculture as one of the major source of income generation but this economic potential through the use of the basin in the sector seems less exploited unlike other countries that tapped into the potential of the major rivers in their domain to make their agriculture centre of economic development.
But Nigeria minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Reng Ochekpe, said the member countries along the basin are making judicial use of the basin agriculturally, saying that most of the food productions of member countries are produced mostly along the Niger Rivers.
“Yes the countries that are members of the basin are benefiting from the basin. Most of the countries are agrarian, the food they produced are from the Niger river. And you can see that we have a formidable association and from time to time we meet to discuss, because we have a shared vision on how to use the water of the river Niger so that no one country dominates in terms of using the water and other countries are denied.
“That is the sole purpose of having the organization and its 50 years now that this authority has been in existence and so far we’ve been working together as brothers and sisters. Know that the best way for us all to make progress collective is to ensure that there is equitable sharing of the use of the water and a lot of agricultural activities are taking place in the different countries.
“There are lots of benefits in terms of agriculture, fisheries development, even in terms of navigation, all of these are being considered for the benefit of all,” she said.
On the part of the Executive secretary of the basin, retired Major General Collins R. Iherike, the activities of the basin are multi-sectorial and that countries are serious taking advantage of the basin for their agricultural development, adding that Nigeria for instance, has invested is about 977 billion cefa in agriculture along the Niger coast.
According to him: “Agriculture is only a part, we are into agriculture, energy and hydraulics; we are into irrigation and preservation of the ecosystem, forestry, fishery, mines, transport, communication and industry. These are areas we are involved and each one has its own allocation. In Nigeria for instance, our total investment is about 977 billion cefa.”
The chairman, of the council of minister, Niger minister of Petroleum, Energy and Water Resources, Mr Barthelemy Dahoga Kassa, commending the establishment of the basin said resources such as water when managed individually would definitely not amount to anything.
Adding that nothing tangible will come out of it if member countries individually are to put in place policies for the management and utilization of the Niger river.
But the question is, most they also put policies on agriculture in place as a sub-region before each countries take rigorous steps in tapping its agricultural potential. It is on record that if those countries would commit 20% of their annual budgets aside the different grants from several development partners into agricultural development effectively using all the river basins, the region in no time will feed the world.
From the chairman’s words at the council meeting, even though agriculture will not stop the use of the basin for the development of other sectors, the basin seems mostly used for infrastructural development.
He said: “In terms of benefits coming from the Niger River, we need to locate it at two levels. The first is the organized management and utilization of the Niger River. How do we make sure that the ecosystem that has been brought about by the river Niger is well sustained?
“A coherent policy put in place for the management of the resources of the basin has led us to the development of some infrastructures such as the dam and other infrastructures put in place to achieve something that is coherent.
“Still within the concept of concerted management and utilization of the resources provided by the river Niger, you will realize that most of the oil exporting countries within the sub region is along the Niger river. And if the management of the river is not segmented, countries may prevent the coherent segmentation of the deposit of this oil along the flow of river Niger,” he said.
He however said aside from this concerted approach, people along the basin according to him can derive unquantifiable benefits such as fishing, cattle rearing where they water their cattle as well as many other activities that can actually succeed only when there is a river like river Niger.
Ochekpe also said in terms of development of infrastructures, particularly hydraulic infrastructure like dam and that such dams are mostly used for agriculture production.
She however called on the countries to pay their contributions for the development of the basin and its projects which will further enhance all forms of agricultural activities.
“We are here with other member countries and we expects that as we discuss, their representatives will take whatever decision we take back home on their commitment to pay their contribution. 50 years we are still talking about member’s commitment.
“We know that there are competing needs in different countries and the needs for financial resources are enormous for different sector of the economy but here we are reminding ourselves that we have an organization that bids us together and we have a responsibility in as much as we call on the international partners to assist us we also need to show commitment so we remind ourselves and we hope that during the next meeting, we would not have to remind ourselves again, they would have pay off their contributions,” she challenged.
