The Senator representing Kaduna South Senatorial District, Barrister Sunday Marshall Katung, has distributed water pumps for irrigation farming to 50 beneficiaries in Kaura local government area of Kaduna state.
Katung, who made the donation on Monday in Kaura, headquarters of the local government area, said empowering youth in the area in dry season irrigation farming would go a long way in ensuring food security and providing employment opportunities.
The programme is being facilitated by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, under its Emergency Procurement of Water Pump for Dry Season Farming.
Represented by his Senior Legislative Aide, Mr. Wilson Iliya Yangye, the Senator urged the beneficiaries to use the items for the purposes they were meant, and not sell them off.
The lawmaker said the distribution of the water pumps to the beneficiaries comprising both male and females followed a feasibility study of the area and how the youth could be meaningfully engaged to boost the economy of Kaura local government area using its peculiarity.
Katung said the youth in the area could become self-reliant through engaging in dry season farming, especially, in the wake of the current economic hardship being experienced in the country.
In a remark, the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Kaura local government area, Mr. Luka Rikici David, lauded the gesture by the Senator, especially as it targeted the youth in the area.
Mr. David said although not all of the youth would benefit from the gesture in this phase of the programme, similar gestures would be extended to others in the course of time and appealed to people of the area to support the lawmaker to attract more dividends of democracy.
Speaking on behalf of other beneficiaries, Mr. Cletus Monday appreciated Senator Katung for what he described as a humanitarian gesture towards reducing poverty in Southern Kaduna among the youthful population.
Monday appealed to the youth to engage in activities that would improve their lot, and not wait for white-collar jobs, which he said were very few and far between and added that it would also reduce restiveness among active people.
