Farmers Hopeful of Increased Yield as Tiga Dam Reopens After 5 Months- Kano State

Farmers in six Local Government Areas around the Tiga dam in Kano State who practice irrigation farming have expressed excitement after the management of the Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Development Authority (HJRBDA) reopened the dam for farmers and animal usage.

According to the farmers, the dam, which closed on the 1st of November 2021, had brought them untold hardship, saying they were hopeful of better yields as the reopened dam would boost productivity.

Recall that it was reported that HJRBDA had closed the dam for repairs, which made the dry season farming very difficult for farmers who depend on irrigation farming, as the dam serves as the major source of water for over 22,000 hectares of irrigation sites in Kadawa and other irrigation sites in the state.

The farmers had claimed that they were not carried along in the decision taken by the authority while deciding on the dam closure, saying the closure forced many farmers, especially tomato farmers, to move away from the site to other alternative places due to a lack of water.

However, one of the farmers, Mansur Bello Dorawar Sallau, said the farmers have now seen the benefits of the dam’s repair proposals, which they initially failed to see.

“We never knew that what we were initially complaining about would turn out to be a blessing to us. HJRBDA has under the repair agreement, rehabilitated many water channels as well as built new ones.”

“Access roads to farms were repaired and new ones were also constructed. Indeed these are things we didn’t see coming toward us, but we are happy that we stood the pressure and other demerits attached to the closure. Today, we are happy to have our farms watered again,” the farmer said.

Another farmer, Malam Shehu Tasi’u Yadakwari, said he was optimistic that the irrigation system in the Kadawa irrigation site could compete with other modern sites across the continent.

He noted that although the farmers waited so long for the dam to reopen, the outcome was worth the wait, saying the site would now be producing more than it used to.

Meanwhile, the HJRBDA’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Malam Salisu Baba Hamza, said it was heart-warming that farmers had begun to see the rationality behind the authority’s decision to close the dam.

Agro Nigeria