The National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) said on Monday in Abuja that it had trained about 100 farmers on irrigation rice farming and upland rice farming.
NALDA’s Executive Secretary, Mr Paul Ikonne, said this would enable the farmers to explore the benefit of River Kaduna and boost their earnings.
Ikonne said the farmers were from Tunga–Gana, a community in Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State, located along the bank of River Kaduna.
He said irrigation farming would improve the income of the community who before now was mainly preoccupied with fishing.
Ikonne noted that NALDA was ready to assist the people transplant rice from the nursery to 70 hectares of land already ploughed.
He said the presence of Authority’s field workers had inspired so many young farmers to show interest in farming.
Ikonne said they had come forth to be trained in rice planting and handling of farm equipment.
He said NALDA had so far provided farmers in the area with 10 pumping machines, two tractors, planters, sprayers, trans planters, seedlings, hand gloves, among other farming tools.
According to Ikonne, the dam being used for the rice irrigation is the one abandoned many years ago by the River Basin Authority.
He said the programme would be sustained even after completion of the farmers’ training.
