Date: 2017-12-13

The Kwara State House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture and Water Resources has expressed displeasure over the below-expectation performance of the state Ministry of Water Resources in the provision of portable water for residents of Ilorin metropolis due to paucity of funds to the ministry.

To this end, the House Committee has initiated a tripartite meeting between the legislature, the state governor Alhaji AbdulFatah Ahmed and the state Commissioner for Finance Mr Ademola Banu to address the cash backup problem, especially in the area of provision of portable water to the people of Ilorin metropolis.

The chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and water resources, Hon. Ishaku Aliyu Adams gave this indication in ilorin,during the ministerial budget defense by the state commissioner for Water and Resources , Barrister Rasaq Akorede, before the committee.

The law maker described the water sector as an important one, which according to him, must not be neglected by the state government, and expressed confidence that the parley would address cash backing problems to the ministry.

He enjoined the state government to complete the first phase of Ilorin reticulation project by the first quarter of next year and provide palliative measure of putting water tankers in strategic places within the metropolis to cushion the effect of water problem among residents of the state capital.

On agriculture, the House Committee expressed satisfaction with the performance of the state Ministry of Agriculture's 77.6 per cent implementation of the 2017 budget,especially on the implementation of Off Taker Demand Driven Agriculture in which N 1 billion was accessed and disbursed to soya beans,maize, poultry and fish farmers.

Hon. Ishaku said that federal government tractor hiring and implement scheme,in which many states including Kwara state, keyed in, would soon arrive the state for the benefit of farmers.

The Committee expressed satisfaction that the N5.6bn budgetary allocation for agriculture in 2018, will have N3bn dedicated for procurement of fertilizer at subsidized rate of N5,700 per bag and procurement of N1bn improved soya beans and maize seedlings to farmers and consumers in the State.