The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, says it has handed over 26 completed projects to 16 Local Government Areas, in Jigawa State.

The FMARD Director in the state, Alhaji Mustapha Ibrahim, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria in Dutse on Friday.

Mustapha said the projects were executed in 33 communities in Malammadori, Gumel, Birninkudu, Buji, Gwaram, Hadejia, Taura, Ringim, Gwiwa, Kiyawa, Dutse, Guri, Kirikasamma, Kazaure, Kaugama and Babura LGAs.

He explained that the projects included agriculture, road construction, water provision, street lightening and construction of earth dams.

He said that the projects were executed between 2020 and 2021.

The director added that the projects included the establishment of rice mills, skills acquisition centre, milk processing plants, modern meat markets and agricultural empowerment projects.

He further listed others as the provision and installation of solar-powered street lights, construction of feeder roads, motorised and solar-powered boreholes and hand pumps.

Under agriculture, Mustapha said, two rice processing mills were established in Kadumo and Gumel communities in Malammadori and Gumel, as well as a modern meat market in Hadejia and a small milk processing plant in Ringim, were also constructed.

“Also, tractors, power tillers, water pumps, fertiliser and agrichemicals, were provided under agric-empowerment projects,’’ he said.

Under water, he listed projects such as the construction of water harvesting structure in Darina Dosuwa village in Gwiwa, water harvesting structure at Kafin Chiroma in Kazaure, and rehabilitation of a micro earth dam at Sankara Grazing Reserve in Ringim.

Others included the rehabilitation of the water harvesting structure in Gwaram, and a commercial five-hectare posture production at Danfisa Grazing Reserve, in Babura.

Also, under power, the director added that 36 units of solar-powered street lights were provided and installed at Buji and Birninkudu, 15 units at Chamo in Dutse, 15 units at Yalo in Kaugama and 15 units at Tukuda, Kanyawa and Sundumina in Birninkudu.

According to him, this includes the provision and installation of street lights at Kila in Gwaram.

“Under water, the ministry provided two hand pumps at Kiri in Taura, one solar-powered borehole in Guri, two solar-powered boreholes, with an overhead plastic tank at Ilallah in Kirikasamma.

“One solar-powered borehole at Kofar Yamma Kila, in Gwaram and one solar-powered borehole at Federal Government Girls College, Kazaure,’’ he said.

Under the road project, Mustapha added that the ministry constructed a three-kilometre Shuwarin-Kwayoli earth road in Kiyawa, 3.0 asphaltic Masaya-Takudu road in Birninkudu, six-kilometre Kangire-Shawu-Waranba and Gantsa-Jaka and Gubunbiya earth road, in Birninkudu and Buji.

Others he said, were the construction of one-kilometre surface dressed and six-kilometre earth Gujungu-Gayawa road, in Taura, three-kilometre Abirikyau-Maje earth road, in Kiyawa, three-kilometre Sabon Gari-Kila surface dressed road in Gwaram and 11 kilometre Kafin Fulani-Tsangarwa feeder road, in Gwaram.

According to him, the provision of the roads would open up the rural communities for economic activities, as well as facilitate easy movement of farm produce to markets.

Mustapha added that the water and electrification projects were to ensure that farmers and other residents in the benefiting communities had unhindered access to basic amenities that would better lives.

“We believe that provision of basic amenities such as clean water, electricity and good roads will make rural farmers stay in their communities and farm.

“And through this, rural-urban migration will be stemmed so that the rural farmers will stay in their communities and earn more income.

“This will also lead to jobs creation and poverty reduction,” Ibrahim said.

-NAN