Buhari unveils plan to create 500,000 jobs from agric

President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed plans to create additional 500,000 jobs from irrigation farming.Buhari stated this during inauguration of governing boards of all the 12 River Basin Development Authoriry (RBDAs), Nigerian Hydrological Agency (NHSA)

and the National Water Resource Institute (NWRI)


He said government plan was to increase the total number of irrigable land from the current 130,000 of land to 500,000 hectares over the next 14years which would create over 500,000 jobs while fish production both formal and informal would yield 1million tonnes of fish per year with attendant job creation of 20,000 people.
The Minister of Water Resources Suleiman Adamu who conducted the inauguration yesterday in Abuja on behalf of the President Buhari to come up with policies that would enhance water supply and increase food production in the country.
He charged them to bring to fore the vision of the government by developing sound policies and ideas that would enhance provision of water for human consumption and agricultural activities to guarantee national food production for the country.He warned them against interfering in the day-to-day running of the parastatals and agencies, as their role is to drive the general policies guiding their operations.
The minister maintained that their aim was to reposition all the 12 River basins across the country to embark on massive agriculture and irrigation activities.He highlighted the functions of the governing board of the RBDAs to include formulation of business plan, policies and guidelines relating to the achievement of the objectives of the authority, they are to also supervise the management of affairs of the authority, settle fees and charges related to the service rendered by the RBDAs.