As part of efforts to increase food production in Nigeria, the federal government has decided to build a new dam at Bichi in Kano State. For that purpose, it has voted N1.5 billion. The Bella Dam Project, which is to be sited in Bichi Local Government area is expected to provide irrigation for farmers in the area. It is a multi-purpose dam designed to for a storage capacity of 775,000 cubic metres. The project, which is a major leap towards addressing the perennial flooding challenges, will also enhance domestic water supply, fisheries, livestock production, and other agricultural activities.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Engr. Prof. Joseph Terlumun Utsev, FNSE, who laid the foundation for the project, described it as a major milestone in the Federal Government’s commitment to sustainable water management and agricultural development. Engr.Terlumun said,“As a nation, we can transform our water resources into powerful drivers of prosperity, food sufficiency, and national development.”
That was not the only thing that the minister did during his visit to Kano State. A statement by Mrs. Funmi Imuetinyan, Director Information and PR in the ministry of Water Resources said he also performed the launching of the a pilot drip irrigation scheme at Kaukau in Bichi Local Government Area and the symbolic planting of crops. With him at the exercise was the Managing Director of the Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Development Authority (HJRBDA), Rabiu Suleiman Bichi, and Technical Directors from the Ministry. The minister reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to practical, results-driven agricultural interventions. He said that because the new dam is a development on the support that the federal government had given to the state government
The managing director expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu and the the minister of Water Resources and Sanitation for their bold initiatives and unwavering support aimed at achieving food sufficiency and strengthening agricultural production nationwide.
