Food Security: Gombe To Be Enlisted As Participating State In World Bank-assisted Spin Project

Gombe State Governor,  Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, CON, has been commended for his commitment to achieving a significant milestone in food security in the state and Nigeria at large.

The commendation came during a visit by officials from the World Bank and the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation to the Balanga Dam for a physical assessment, a requirement for state participation in the World Bank- assisted Sustainable Power and Irrigation in Nigeria, SPIN Project.

The visit was in line with  President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration’s drive to attain food security and sustainability in the country.

The Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation is to bring about 500,000 hectares of irrigable farmland under irrigation through dams and irrigation schemes across the country. This is to build on the gains of the soon-to-conclude Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria (TRIMING) project, which benefited Gombe State with a 2000-gravity Dadinkowa dam that spans Gombe and Borno States.

The success of TRIMING led to the rollout of the World Bank-supported Sustainable Power and Irrigation in Nigeria (SPIN) Project. Unlike TRIMING, which was implemented only in federal government dams, SPIN allows states with dams and irrigation land to participate in the interventions.

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The Commissioner for Water Resources, Mohammed Saidu Fawu, expressed joy and applauded Governor Inuwa Yahaya for keying into the SPIN Project through expression of interest, fulfillment of eligibility criteria, and financial commitment in counterpart funding. This has necessitated a second engagement visit by officials of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation to engage further and undertake an on-the-spot assessment of identified irrigation projects.

Recently, the Secretary to the Gombe State Government, Professor Abubakar Ibrahim Njodi, reiterated the government’s efforts to resuscitate the Balanga Dam through collaboration with development partners for full utilization and attainment of food security through irrigation farming.

The traditional ruler of Balanga, HRH Danjuma Mohammed, expressed delight at the forthcoming intervention by Governor Inuwa Yahaya’s administration and its development partners, describing it as timely, especially in the face of inflation and severe hunger in the country.