Yobe’ll be major rice, wheat producer soon – Gaidam

By Musa M. Buba Damaturu

In its quest to assist farmers and empower youths, the Yobe state government led by Governor Ibrahim Gaidam has started preparing for full scale irrigation farming in four diff erent locations across the state. Th e governor declared this recently during a tour of irrigation locations across the state.

According to him, a special irrigation task force has been put in place and construction of canals and dykes as a strategy for harvest and storing abundant rainfall is to be used during the dry season. Gaidam said the government was determined to make the irrigation potential areas of the state to become a major producer of rice, and wheat among other vegetables.

“With what I have seen in these locations and the intensive eff orts of the special task force on the scheme, I am confi dent that we will soon become a major player, especially in rice and wheat production,” he said. Earlier, the chairman of the special task force on irrigation, Gambomi Goni, had said a strategy had been adopted to store enough rainfall for the year-round farming. Blueprint gathered that for a start, government would provide the farm and other inputs to attract the farmers into the profession.

“We are currently working on 200 hectares each in Nguru and Muguram and we are constructing a 1, 500 meters main canal as well as numerous intake channels. Th e farming will hold throughout the year and we envisage three cropping seasons with wheat around October-March, rice around March-July and then early variety of maize around JulySeptember,” he said. Th e irrigation committee had showed the governor some demonstration farms which have indicated a very high yield.

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