The farmers blame the development on the failure of officials to release water for irrigation during the dry season. The farmers said government officials controlling the dams in the area refused to release water for irrigation farming during the dry season despite calls on them to do so. They said they have incurred loss of over N25 million due to the situation.
The farmers said they have been using water from the dams for irrigation for the past 40 years and had never experienced such incident until this year. They said with the aid of the two dams, they have in the past been cultivating crops three times a year but this year they can only cultivate during the ongoing rainy season.
Daily Trust reporter who visited the two villages observed that most of the crops planted during the irrigation farming period in the two villages which included rice, wheat, maize, sugar cane, tomatoes, paper, carrots, cabbage, onions, lettuce and okra have dried up due to lack of water.
Thousands of farmers are affected in the two local governments, with about 3,000 in Faskari, and over 2,000 in Funtua respectively. The affected areas in Funtua local government include Barebari, Unguwar Bishi, Sabon-Gida, Unguwar Daudu and Unguwar Biri, while in Faskari local government, villages like Unguwar Bammi, Unguwar Malam Musa, Unguwar Mai-Gora, Fadamar Danjuma and Unguwar Madugu also fell victims of the unfortunate situation.
In Mairuwa village, one of the farmers, Alhaji Haruna Ado Mairuwa said, “most of the crops we planted this year have dried up. Initially, the water was released to the irrigation site, but after we planted and the crops reached some stage of maturity, government blocked the water and the crops dried.”
Approximately, about 5,000 hectares is being cultivated by farmers at both Gwaigwaye and Mairuwa dams annually, a farmer, Isma’ila Aliyu, said. He said hundreds of metric tons of assorted crops that include rice, maize and soyabean are being produced at the sites annually.
The farmers told Daily Trust in Mairuwa that they have lodged complaints at the zonal office of the Ministry of Water Resources in Funtua over the stoppage of water, but that the manager in-charge of the zone informed them that it was an order from above that water should not be released to irrigation site any longer.
Daily Trust gathered that Senator Ibrahim in his effort to assist irrigation farmers in his constituency, drilled washbowls across the constituency this year. Each ward is said to have gotten not less than 70 washbowls. However, most of the washbowls were discovered to have dried up when this reporter visited some of them.
“The washbowls we are drilling are no longer serving the purpose they were meant for and government is not drilling tube wells for us. Government has only drilled one tube well in this area and it has developed problem for months now. Our life relies on irrigation and dry season farming but unfortunately government is not paying attention to our activities despite the fact that we are immensely contributing to the economy of the state,” Malam Muktar, a farmer lamented.
When contacted, the state Commissioner of Agriculture, Alhaji Musa Adamu Funtua said although the irrigation activities taking place at Gwaigwaye dam were not official, but government has provided farmers in the area with necessary implements including a new generating set to boost supply to water to irrigation sites.
He debunked allegation that government has ordered for the stoppage of water, saying there is no way government can give such an order, adding, “a government that is spending billions on agriculture in order to improve the sector can never sabotage the activities of irrigation farming.”
Alhaji Funtua said the Shema-led administration has done everything to farmers in the state ranging from the provision of fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides and provision of tube wells as well as other agricultural implements. He said government has rehabilitated all the 27 dams in the state. “We also put to use the 3,500 hectares at Jibia dam. He also pointed out that the Songhai farm project initiated by the Shema-led government has taken-off in the state with Dutsin-ma centre fully completed, while work at Funtua and Daura centres are in progress, adding, “this is in addition to the provision of 340 tractors to farmers as loan, which they paid at 50 per cent discount.”
On his part, the Commissioner for Water Resources, Alhaji Jamilu Mamman Danmusa said he did not order for the stoppage of water. He attributed the development to communication gap, saying “nobody informed me about the development. I can assure you I will communicate with the zonal manager of the water board in Funtua to find out the truth of the matter.”
Danmusa also assured that government will resolve the matter as soon as possible, saying, “if the farmers want the water even in this rainy season we will release it to them because our governor is willing to assist them in whichever way they want.
“Governor Shema is willing to work with anybody to boost agriculture in Katsina. We are in talks with the management of Sokoto Rima concerning a project brought by Senator Abu Ibrahim for the rehabilitation of Mairuwa and Gwaigwaye dams and we have reached advanced stage,” he said.
