HJRBDA engages 1,000 graduates to boost food production in Kano, Jigawa and Bauchi

The Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Development Authority has engaged the services of 1,000 youths to boost food production in Kano, Jigawa, and Bauchi states.

Managing Director, Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Development Authority, Rabiu Suleiman Bichi, disclosed this during the flag-off ceremony of the programme at the headquarters of the Authority in Kano on Tuesday.

He stressed that the engagement and deployment of the graduates was in fulfilment of a pledge he made when he assumed office on April 9, 2025, adding that the intervention aligns with the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda on food security.

“We plan to train at least 5,000 youths from Kano, Jigawa and Bauchi in modern irrigation, beekeeping, horticulture, greenhouse farming, fodder grass and hydroponics within the next three years,” he added.

“For the next three months, the 1,000 Champions will serve as the bridge between HJRBDA and farmers. Their job will include to provide technical support, promote better agronomic practices, improve water management, and offer field guidance. They will also help mediate conflicts between farmers and herders,” he noted.

Bichi said the choice of the youths was intentional, adding that “Young people possess the energy, knowledge and innovative capacity required to drive agricultural transformation. By placing them directly in farming communities, we are supporting farmers and giving our youths practical experience.”

He listed the achievements of the HJRBDA to include the delivery of 2,500 hectares of new irrigable land, training for 1,350 youths in poultry and 1,500 people in drip irrigation, drilling of over 500 boreholes, 5,000 and installation of solar street lights, among others.

Beneficiaries received engagement letters and empowerment items, including 600 solar water pumps, 150 motorcycles, eight rice cutters and 20 motorised sprayers.

Dignitaries at the occasion included the DG, National Productivity Centre, Baffa Babba Dan Agundi, and representatives of the Kano State Government and the APC Kano State.