The Rural Electrification Agency, REA, in collaboration with National Fadama Development Project, NFDP, has supported dry season farming across the 16 local government areas of Kwara State with Solar Powered Irrigation Pumps, to enhance food security in the State and to ensure all year-round in farming/cropping.

This is coming as a result of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in July 2022 between REA and (NFDP).

Presenting the solar-powered irrigation pumps, the Higher Technical Officer, Rural Electrification Agency, North Central Zone, Engr. Adebayo Babatunde disclosed that “the initiative is aimed at improving utilisation of Land and Water Resources across the major rivers in the country.”

He noted that implementation of the programme by REA started with thirteen pivotal states of which Kwara is one and that the beneficiary subproject sites selected include communities with Farmers' User Groups, FUGs, surface water schemes, subproject sites requiring upgrades in electrification infrastructure and others.

Receiving the items on behalf of the Kwara State Government, the Project Coordinator, Kwara Fadama CARES, Engr. Dr. Busari Toyin Isiaka, thanked the Rural Electrification Agency for bearing Kwara Farmers in mind, adding that such initiative is in order with the remarkable agricultural policy of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq-led administration to ensure increase in farm produce, across the state.

“The development is complementing various support schemes being executed by AbdulRazaq, to improve the State's agricultural sector, as His Excellency has turned Kwara to a buoyant and conducive agrarian state, for farmers,” he stated.

The Coordinator explained further that the Rural Electrification Agency, REA, and the National Fadama Development Agency, NFDA, have thought outside the box to ensure sustainability of Farmers' User Groups' farming activities intended to boost agricultural production and charged the beneficiaries on effective utilisation of the pumps.

Responding, representatives of the beneficiaries expressed their profound gratitudes to the benefactor for the support, adding that items distributed will enhance their productivities in agricultural activities.

The beneficiaries included Eighteen Farmer Groups across the 16 Local Government Areas in the State.