World Bank Country Director in Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, represented by Chinedu Emmanuel has said that quality governance is paramount for achieving food security. He said this at the Meeting of the National Technical Committee on Water Resources holding in Abuja. According to him ”the principal role of quality governance for achieving food security cannot be overstated. One of the renewed agenda of the current government is national food security through its Irrigation Agenda Programme, among many other programmes. However, achieving the food security target is not what the federal government alone can handle. States must come on board fully”.
He also said that it is critical for the federal and state governments to have quality partnership to achieve food security should be strengthened, and added that effective collaboration between relevant Ministries like Water, Agriculture, and other MDAs should be strengthened as well. According to him, the World Bank has an active portfolio of over $2 billion concessionary finances in the water sector alone, and among the projects supported by the World Bank is the Transforming Irrigation Agenda in Nigeria project, which is helping to realise the vision of national food security through irrigation and drainage development.
As the Chief Host, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike who was represented by a Director in the FCTA, Udo Atang, declared the four-day the 30th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Water Resources and Sanitation open. The meeting called by Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation is coming on the heels of biting prices of food items across the country. It sought urgent synergy with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to adequately irrigate farmlands and guarantee that food is produced all year round. Speaking during the Meeting of the National Technical Committee on Water Resources holding in Abuja, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, Shehu Aliyu, in an address of welcome at during the opening ceremony of the 30th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Water Resources and Sanitation, said that the time for the synergy is now, therefore the two sister organisations should rise up to the occasion to ensure farmers return to their farms.
Aliyu also mentioned that the declaration of state of emergency on food security by President Bola Tinubu in order to address high food prices under the Renewed Hope agenda has a component of water and sanitation. While speaking on the theme of the Meeting, ‘People Planet and Prosperity: Promoting Water Governance for National Food Security’, he expressed optimism with the array of experts in the water resources sector present quality and thoughtful memoranda will be generated for Council’s consideration. Therefore, he pointed out that there is need to focus on water governance and its role towards the promotion of National Food Security, and also deliberate and fashion mechanisms by which the three tiers of government as well as the private sector can utilise the impounded water in the nation’s dams and reservoirs for irrigation activities.
He said: “The theme for this year’s Meeting which is anchored on “People Planet and Prosperity: Promoting Water Governance for National Food Security” could not have come at a better time than now in view of the robust plan put in place by the current administration to curb the rising cost of food and its negative impact to the critical mass for our population. You will recall that the Federal Government has recently declared a State of Emergency on Food Security to tackle food inflation in line with the Renewed Hope of the present administration. The major components of this declaration as it affects the water and sanitation sector include: 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. 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 that food is produced all year round.
“Engage our security architecture to protect the farms and the farmers so that farmers can return to the farmlands without fear of being attacked.” Meanwhile, he (Aliyu) charged the 12 River Basin Development Authorities, RBDAs, to cultivate 500,000 hectares of farmland nationwide. The 12 River Basin Development Authorities, RBDAs, ensure the planting of crops during the dry season with irrigation schemes that will guarantee continuous farming production all year to stem the seasonal glut and scarcity. The need to cultivate 500,000 hectares of farmland nationwide to grow maize, rice, wheat and other staple crops”, he said. However, according to the Permanent Secretary, the Ministry has introduced three flagship programmes as its resolve to align with the State of Emergency on Food Security Declaration and the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration, which are Water for Expanded Irrigated Agriculture Programme (WEIRPRO); Partnership for Expanded Irrigation Programme (PEIRPRO) and River Basin Strategy for Poverty Alleviation (RB-SPA).
“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 have already leveraged on the current intervention to launch dry season farming within their catchment areas. The remaining RBDAS which are yet to do so, are encouraged to follow suit. The expected outcome from the various interventions is to create 5 to 10 million jobs for our teeming youths within the agricultural value chain”, he added.
