The Federal Government has concluded partnership arrangement with State of Israel, to develop the nation’s water sector. This would focus mainly on technological transfer,
to increase the output of irrigated agriculture for domestic consumption and also dams and irrigation management to help address water and environmental challenges.
The Permanent Secretary, ministry of water resources, Mr. Musa Istifanus made the disclosure in Abuja during a dinner organized by the ministry of water resources, federal ministry of environment and the State of Israel in preparation for Water Technology and Environmental Control (WATEC) 2015 Exhibition and conference scheduled for October, 2015 in the State of Israel.
According to him, almost every part of the country has sufficient water, but the challenge was making use of technologies that would be more suitable for a particular region.
He noted that what was needed however, was Israeli’s skill which was used to address the water problem in Israel and most importantly, technical know-how on the usage of appropriate equipment, adaptable to different areas of the country to yield more effective result.
Istifanus maintained that although Nigeria practices irrigation system of agriculture similar to that of the State of Israel, Israel however, has advanced technologically in the area of irrigation development and as such the partnership would provide opportunity for the Nigeria to share ideas that would lead to high productivity in the irrigation system of the country.
He said: ”The bilateral relationship between the two countries should therefore focus in this area to increase food production to feed the growing population and for exports particularly in areas of comparative advantage to Nigeria”.
“It is important to collaborate with the state of Israel in the manufacturing of irrigation equipments adaptable to Nigerian ecological conditions and seek for technical assistance in the area of consultancy services for irrigation development and management.
“Technical staff require training in engineering technology and water requirements, water resources management, monitoring & assessment, water quality data interpretation & reporting, river health monitoring and water safety plan.
“In the development of catchment management plans for hydrological areas, water allocation strategy and tariff settings, technical transfer on drip sprinkler irrigation and water recycling usage to tackle the problem of desertification to reduce the increasing rate of desertification,” he added.
No comments:
Post a Comment