17 kilometres irrigation project to cost $32m in Jigawa

Jigawa State Governor Muhammad Badaru Abubakar has expressed satisfaction with the rate of work on the ongoing 17 kilometres irrigation project, which is estimated to cost $37 million.It is being handled by the Great Northern Agriculture Limited.The project is for 12,000 hectares of sugarcane plantation in Gagarawa Local Government Area.The governor, who spoke during an unscheduled visit to the Jigawa Sugar Factory project in Grain Ciroma in Gagarawa Local Government Area, said the project would succeed by the special grace of God since it was going ahead as scheduled.Abubakar also expressed happiness on sugar cane yields from the seed plantation averaging 100 tonnes per hectare.He assured the management of Great Northern Agriculture Limited of the state governments commitment to the actualisation of the project.He said no amount of blackmail would deter the project.The firms top management took the governor on tour of the plantation.They said the plantation extended to 150 hectares in the first phase, adding that it would reach 1,000 hectares by the end of the year to meet the 12,000-hectare target in three years.The plantation has the largest and most sophisticated fertigation plant in the country. It has a fully computerised control room regulating irrigation, fertiliser and pesticide application throughout the plantation as well as automatically using sensors in the field.The project, which will produce 100,000 tonnes of sugar when completed, would also have a fertiliser plant, seasoning factory as well as generate about five megawatts of power.Its in line with the state governments resolve to promote megaagricinvestments and save the country scarce foreign exchange from import substitution.
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