The Federal Government on Friday said it is targeting to irrigate 500,000 hectares of land for agriculture and generation of 30 Gigawatts of sustainable energy under the Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria(SPIN)Project.
Prof. Joseph Utsev, Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, stated this at the inaugural meeting of the Project Steering Committee on the Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria Project in Abuja.
Utsev said the Federal Government was committed to improving its food, water, and energy security, and with the use of the Irrigate Nigeria Project.
According to him, “we can achieve the vision of having an estimated 500,000 ha irrigated agriculture, 30 Gigawatts of sustainable energy, and improved resilience to floods, droughts, and climate change.”
He affirmed that the Sustainable Power Irrigated Nigeria Project would contribute significantly to the modernisation of irrigation sector and the safety of dams and communities across the country.
As part of initiatives to irrigate Nigeria, he explained that the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation piloted the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria Project, commonly referred to as the “TRIMING Project”, as part of the Federal Government’s recent efforts to reform and improve the irrigation sector and its governance.
According to him, “The TRIMING Project pioneered transformative management initiatives and introduced the training and empowerment of the Water User Associations (WUAs) to participate in the Management, Operations, and Maintenance of the irrigation schemes.
“The project recorded a remarkable success story, as the Management Operation and Maintenance model was used by the WUAs to rehabilitate about 32,000 ha of large-scale irrigation schemes, which significantly enhanced food production and created positive impacts on the livelihood of especially rural farmers.
“The Federal Government, in an attempt to build on the results achieved under the TRIMING Project, strategically designed the Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria Project in collaboration with the World Bank Group, which is supported by a loan facility of USD 500 million.”
Continuing he said, “The project seeks to address critical national priorities in the areas of water resources management, irrigation development, and hydropower generation through an integrated and multi-sectoral approach, involving stakeholders at both the Federal and State levels under two models (Model 1 and Model 2).”
He added that the project has four key components, which are patterned to enhance national capacity to facilitate the delivery of large-scale, multi-purpose infrastructure for irrigation and hydropower, while ensuring sustainable water governance.
He revealed that 17 States have qualified to participate in the Project,having met the three eligibility criteria such as enactment of a State-level Water Users Association’s law; provision of a budget line appropriated for Operation & Maintenance support to the Water Users Association in the State; and establishment of counterpart funding for the Project.
He said: “The criteria-based and transparent selection process adopted throughout the exercise reflected our shared commitment to coming up with the seventeen (17) States that qualified to participate in the project.
“The project has a clear institutional arrangement that defines the roles to be played by each entity as contained in the project operation documents.”
Commenting on the role of the Steering Committee, the Minister explained that the Committee would serve as the apex policy and decision-making body for the Project, adding that he is the Chairman of the Committee as the Minister of Power is the Co-chair.
Other members of the Committee include Ministers of Agriculture and Food Security, Environment; Budget and Economic Planning, and State’s Commissioners for Water Resources and Agriculture from participating States.
In his welcome address, Mr. Richard Pheelangwah, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, said the inaugural meeting of the Steering Committee of SPIN Project, marked the commencement of the implementation of the Project.
Pheelangwah explained that SPIN Project would leverage on the results achieved under the Transforming Irrigation in Nigeria (TRIMING) Project, adding that “the SPIN Project embodies a significant convergence of national priorities of Agriculture, Water, and Energy security into a unified and integrated platform for development.”
In his remarks, Engr. Chinedu Umolu, World Bank Team Leader, commended Nigeria on the inauguration of the Steering Committee on the Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria Project.
