Kano State says contractors have started at some irrigation sites, but conflicting acreage estimates obscure how much new farmland 11 planned schemes could serve in total.
At a Tuesday, Nov. 3, briefing, Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Danjuma Mahmoud said repairs at Jermambaka, the Kadawa Farmers’ Centre and Bunkure A and B had made more than 1,200 acres usable for cultivation again, Voice of Nigeria reported.
The 11 smaller schemes are separate from the Donsushia dam, which is designed to provide irrigation for about 500 hectares, or 1,250 acres, according to Voice of Nigeria. Mahmoud said the dam was about 40% complete and a 14-kilometer access road had been finished.
The acreage figures for the smaller projects differ within Voice of Nigeria’s account: its narrative gives roughly 2,000 acres, while Mahmoud’s stated combined figure is 2,400 acres. BusinessDay’s headline puts the expansion at 3,000 acres; its article body assigns about 2,000 acres to the smaller schemes and treats the dam’s 500 hectares as a separate figure.
Mahmoud said compensation payments had begun in six locations and contractors were active at some sites, particularly Anibasu, Voice of Nigeria reported. He also cited more than 200 additional acres recovered through work with Nigeria’s Federal Government and the African Development Bank-supported Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Programme (ATAPS). That acreage is separate from the land restored through repairs.
Mahmoud said the projects are intended to increase farm output, strengthen food security, support rural livelihoods and create jobs. He also said they aim to reduce migration from rural areas to cities.
BusinessDay had raised questions about maintenance, water distribution and women’s access to irrigated land and crop income, as summarized in EconoTimes’ earlier look at water reliability in Kano.
