The Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority has reaffirmed that empowering women is central to driving food security and economic growth under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The agency’s Managing Director, Alhaji Abubakar Malam, made this known on Wednesday at the flag-off of agricultural support programmes under the Zauro Polder Irrigation Project in Birnin Kebbi. Items distributed included solar-powered irrigation machines, improved rice seedlings, and livestock targeted at women groups across Kebbi State.
Represented by the Executive Director of Planning and Design, Hon. Kabiru Ladan Maigoro Malam explained that the livestock initiative was aligned with the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Initiative, which seeks to uplift women’s economic well-being nationwide.
He expressed confidence that President Tinubu’s recent emergency declaration on food security was already producing results, adding that expanded irrigation farming—backed by state governments—would help Nigeria meet its food production targets more quickly.
Malam commended Kebbi State Governor, Dr. Nasir Idris, and Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, for sustaining the state’s role as Nigeria’s agricultural hub.
At the event, Programme Manager of the Zauro Polder Project, Hajiya Mariyatu Sulaiman, urged beneficiaries to use the items responsibly, while traditional leaders pledged support to ensure they are not diverted or sold.
Hundreds of women across Kebbi’s three senatorial zones benefited from the first phase of the scheme, with communities in Zauro, Ambursa, Augie, Argungu, Yauri, and Zuru receiving irrigation machines, livestock, and improved rice seedlings.
