Mohammed Aminu in Sokoto
The Sokoto State Government has said that it will construct 1,000 tube wells in order to provide enough water for farmlands for the 2018 irrigation season in the state.
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who made the disclosure in Sokoto at the weekend, added that the water levels in the dams are very low and will not be enough to serve the needs of farmers for the dry season farming.
He stated that in order to overcome that challenge, experts suggested that government should seek alternative ways of watering the farmlands, adding: “In that regard, we decided to construct 1,000 tube wells in different locations across the state. This effort will enable us meet our target for the 2018 cropping season.”
Tambuwal disclosed that the state government had already procured five super tiller machines, 50 tomato grinding machines, 40 rice handheld harvesters and five mini tractors at the cost of N64 million to support farming activities in the state.
On the FADAMA III agriculture project in the state, the governor said Sokoto farmers had implemented a total of 1,786 business plans for rice, sorghum and tomato value chains, the largest of such plans in the country.
“The total number of participating farmers stands at 24,546, made up of 21,631 male and 2,915 female,†he added.
