Farmers in the Watari irrigation area of Bagwai Local Government Area, Kano State, are grappling with devastating losses due to an ongoing water crisis that has plagued their farmlands for the past three years.
During a recent inspection of the affected farms, Chairman of the Farmers’ Association, Alhaji Ibrahim Sani Janruwa, did not mince words as he exposed the mismanagement that has deepened their woes.
Janruwa revealed that three years ago, the Islamic Development Bank extended financial support for the expansion and rehabilitation of irrigation channels in the Watari region.
However, instead of bringing relief, the project became a monument to corruption and inefficiency.
According to him, those entrusted with executing the project betrayed public trust by engaging an ill-equipped and incompetent contractor through favoritism. The result? A poorly executed project that has done more harm than good.
“The work dragged on for over three years without completion,” he lamented, adding that key project guidelines were blatantly ignored, severely compromising its quality.
The consequences of this failure have been devastating.
“This failure has left more than 10,000 farms without adequate irrigation, posing a serious threat to food security, economic stability, and peaceful coexistence in Kano State,” Janruwa warned.
Recent assessments paint an even bleaker picture only 25% of the total farmland in the area currently receives sufficient water, a glaring indicator of the crisis at hand.
READ ALSO: No Security Threat in Kano, Police Alarm Baseless — State Govt
With Kano State’s agricultural backbone under threat, Janruwa has made an urgent appeal to relevant authorities and stakeholders to step in before the situation spirals out of control.
He cautioned that if swift action is not taken, Kano and Nigeria at large could face severe food shortages and rising unemployment.
Janruwa emphasized that the Watari Dam is not just a water source it is the lifeline of thousands of farmers, a driver of food production, and a pillar of economic survival in the region.