How FG is losing multi-billion naira Gurara Irrigation assets

One of the multi-billion naira Federal Government projects that is progressively going down from underutilization, lack of maintenance and upgrade is the Gurara Irrigation Scheme located in Azara-Jere in Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The project, which was commissioned less than five years ago, is now becoming a shadow of its original vision. […]

One of the multi-billion naira Federal Government projects that is progressively going down from underutilization, lack of maintenance and upgrade is the Gurara Irrigation Scheme located in Azara-Jere in Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The project, which was commissioned less than five years ago, is now becoming a shadow of its original vision.

Theft, faulty irrigation paraphernalia and poor soil quality have forced many farmers, especially large-scale ones, to jettison the scheme because they could not recoup their investments, Daily Trust learnt.

The farmers, who are still at the site, have to incur more expenses in order to keep a number of the systems safe.

Some of the security guards contracted to safeguard the facilities told our reporter on Tuesday that they have not been paid for months and some, like Mr Shedrach Obadiah, feel like leaving.

The irrigation scheme was one of the key components of the Gurara Multipurpose Dam Project awarded by the Federal Government at the initial sum of N15.1 billion in 2001, at the onset, to transfer water from Gurara Dam to Lower Usuma Dam to meet Abuja water needs.

But in 2007, the Federal Government added additional components (hydro-power plant and pilot irrigation farming projects) that gulped N38.5 billion, which catapulted the initial contract sum to N54.3 billion.

The 6,000-hectare irrigation project was designed to serve both smallholder and large-scale farmers.

Two companies handled the project construction: SCC Nigeria Limited worked on 4,000 hectares  and Salini Nigeria Limited developed 2,000 hectares.

SCC Nigeria Limited handled the water distribution system for the project, including 29 kilometres (1,400mm steel) pipeline, 100,000 m3 regulating water reservoir, secondary distribution system, and on-farm distribution system, which covers the 4,000 hectares.

The project has five types of irrigation systems:  pressure irrigation, irrigation with fixed sprinklers, drip irrigation, mobile irrigation with sprinklers and pivot irrigation systems.

Daily Trust, which has visited the site every year, can confirm that farming activities at the project are gradually going down with only a few resilient farmers and Kaduna-based Seed Company struggling to keep the place alive.

For some farmers, the cost of farming at the site is high because, according them, the construction companies did a poor job by scrapping the top productive soil.

Also, some motorized pivots are now faulty with water gushing out even in places where no farming activities was going on and it seemed nobody cared.

Abdullahi Abubakar, who cultivated two hectares of maize, told this reporter that some commercial farmers that initially came had to leave, adding “maybe they could not get what they wanted.”

The Federal Ministry of Water Resources is said to be in charge of the water management of the site and the minister, Suleiman Adamu, had promised to fix uncompleted and degenerated projects of the ministry rather than embarking on new ones.

But over three years into the present administration, Gurara irrigation project seems not to have benefited from that promise.