The Managing Director of Lower Niger River Basin Authority, Mr Jimoh Afolayan, said on Wednesday that the authority would generate more than 5,000 jobs through irrigated farming within the next two years.

Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria  in Abuja,  Afolayan said the jobs would be created from the authority’s planned dry season irrigated farming programme.

He said the authority would soon commence a survey of all Fadama land under its jurisdiction in Kwara and Kogi states with a view to cultivating them for dry season farming.

Afolayan said that the authority would sink tubewells on the land and create escrow account to provide agricultural loans for farmers under the scheme.

‘’That is the best way to make the authority impact meaningfully on the economic well-being of the rural dwellers.’’

He said one tubewell, powered by a pumping machine, could irrigate one hectare of farm and that farmers who embraced the programme would be given all necessary technical assistance and training for adequate investment returns.

The managing director noted that dry season farming was more profitable than rainy season farming which was characterised by glut in farm produce and wastage due to poor storage facilities.

He stressed that the agricultural sector was the most viable way to rural economic transformation and urged youths roaming the urban centres in search of white-collar jobs to embrace it.

He announced that the authority would soon re-open its Omu-Aran Area Office, which was shut many years ago following a fire incident that destroyed its buildings.

Furthermore, the managing director said that the authority was currently restructuring the various departments and rehabilitating broken down tractors to increase its revenue generation.

He, therefore, enjoined all the staff of the authority to support the efforts of the management to restore the old glory of the organisation.