HJKYB commissions community pilot fish farm in Jos

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, the Executive Secretary of the trust fund, AlhassanBilya, said the project was initiated to contribute toward poverty reduction in order to make the best use of the available water resources under its mandate.Bilya stated: “What we are doing here today constitutes a landmark because some of us here might not […]

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, the Executive Secretary of the trust fund, AlhassanBilya, said the project was initiated to contribute toward poverty reduction in order to make the best use of the available water resources under its mandate.
Bilya stated: “What we are doing here today constitutes a landmark because some of us here might not be aware of the fact that the big River Yobe which empties into Lake Chad begins from here Plateau State where we are seated and the other parts are from highland of Katsina and Kano where the Hadejia River started.  Here is the source of Jama’are River. It is these two rivers that merged in the northern part of Yobe and Jigawa State to form the Yobe River which flows into Lake Chad.”
The executive secretary said that the project which included construction of the ponds and foundation fish cost N2 million. A total of 10, 000 fishes, including two varieties of 7,000 Clarias and 3, 000 Talapia will serve as pioneer fishes in the ponds.
He added that the project, if effectively managed and sustained, will benefit over 2, 000 people in the community, adding that government can replicate the projects as way of fighting poverty and unemployment in the society.
He noted that HJKYB realised that there was potential for fish farming which can provide the community a lot of employment opportunities and eradicate poverty.
“We have constructed and handed over the project to the people of Maza and the owners of the fish farm are people of Maza, ours is to maintain contact to know how well they are doing,” the executive secretary added.
In his remark at the event, Plateau State Commissioner of Agriculture, Steven Barko, said that Plateau is one of the six riparian states that created HJKYB-TF in 2006 as a joint intervention platform for augmenting line agencies in addressing land and water resources management issues in the HadejiaJama’are-KamaduguYobe basin.
Represented by the ministry’s Principal Secretary, Administration, NanleGosele, Barko said: “I am also aware that the basin has commissioned three studies on food control, with main objective of cutting down the rate of dry season migration among youths, reducing rural poverty and improving livelihoods of all beneficiaries.”
The commissioner stressed that Plateau State would ever remain grateful to the HJKYB-TF for the enormous intervention and ensure that the project is properly implemented to realize its set objectives of reducing the rate of youths migrations, poverty, through creation of employment and enhance food security in the state.
He advised the beneficiaries of the pilot project to always adopt best practice methods in managing the farm.
On his part, Chairman of Jos North LGA, Dr Danjuma Sanda, said:  “We are going to build a borehole around the pond to sustain it in the dry season. We want to encourage agriculture by making it viable and easy for our people. We want to make our teeming youths to become self-sufficient through agriculture.”   
He commended HJKYB-TF for their vision of constructing a significant and historical pond, adding: “I am excited to hear that water from Jos-North forms part of the water that ends up in Lake Chad. I can see that Jos North is very blessed with land, human capital. I can see a lot of potentials in our LGA. Apart from that, Jos North has the potential for potatoes farming to feed the entire state.”
A youth leader in Maza, who spoke at the event, Danladi  Sale, solicited  the local government’s assistance in fencing the farm area so as to avoid trespassing, saying that the pond was built close to the river where cattle move to the river side to drink water.
He also appealed to the state and local governments to increase varieties of fishes in the pond.
In his welcome address, the District Head of Gwong, MrJauroMagaji, thanked the agency and the government for bringing wealth into his domain, pledging to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to sustain the project.
He called on the government, at all levels, to increase their level of support for agriculture, saying that developing the sector would solve the problems of unemployment, poverty and youth restiveness in the country.