Water is a limiting factor to agricultural productivity-NPC ACReSAL

The National Project Coordinator of the ACReSAL Project, Mr. Abdulhamid Umar disclosed this when he paid a working visit to the Director General (DG) of the Nigeria Integrated Water Resources Management Commission (NIWRMC), Engr. Magashi U. Bashir.

Umar noted that water is a limiting factor to agricultural productivity and food security because the rainy season lasts 3 to 4 months only in most parts of the north.

He said irrigation will enable farmers to cultivate their lands all year round which will make them nutritionally and economically resilient to climate change. While making water available, the project will also ensure this is done in a safe manner for the good of our communities and people of Nigeria.

He informed his host that the place of his commission is very fundamental in ACReSAL project implementation, given that availability of water and land is needed to achieve the land restoration target of 1million hectare by the project in the next 6 years. The NPC emphasized that the role of NIWRMC is recognised in the project documents and he is very excited to know that the commission has a key role to play in the development of the ACReSAL project catchment management Plan.

He further noted that, in terms of hydrological presence, the issue of addressing land degradation cannot be discussed without considering water, the areas of water irrigation and catchment management. He therefore called on the commission’s participation on day-to-day implementation of ACReSAL because the place of water distribution, availability is important to the project delivery and the project will require some expertise in these areas.

In his remark, the DG NIWRMC, said that the commission is a proposed regulator in the water sector and carrying out its duties according to water resources law. He noted that the commission is thinking of institutionalizing flood insurance for people that lose their assets as a result of flood, enacting policies on wetlands and on underground water metering. He assured that his team will collaborate with ACReSAL to achieve a lot and to build institutions for sustainability.

The DG highlighted that there are couple of activities that his commission will support in the project and that his team is ready and willing to join the project and participate actively in the project implementation. He also said that the commission’s activities are helping to strengthen the capacity of organizations for positive transformation through learning and knowledge sharing while disclosing that that he was a part of the NEWMAP project from the beginning and his colleagues will replicate the same by building a memory with ACRESAL.