The Federal Government has urged the benefiting states of Kebbi and Zamfara to take ownership of the newly installed Centre Pivot Irrigation systems to turn around the agricultural sector and promote food security.
An official of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Adeyinka Adenopo, made the call during a visit to project sites to assess their functionality ahead of full hand over to the river basins today.
He said the Federal Government was looking at the fastest means of achieving food security, adding that the need for irrigation agriculture had become imperative.
Adenopo expressed the hope that the project conceived years back was being materialised, adding that with duplication of similar systems across the country, the dream would have been realised.
He noted that due to delay in agreement on paperwork, terms and conditions, the handover to the river basins was stalled.
Earlier, an official of Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority, Alhaji Abdullahi Danmagaji said sustainable agriculture development would be achieved with manpower development.
