The Federal Government on Wednesday spotlighted the successes of gender mainstreaming and gender-based violence (GBV) interventions under the World Bank-supported Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria (TRIMING) Project, declaring it a model for replication nationwide.
At a high-level workshop held in Kano, themed “From Tradition to Transformation, Led by Women”, the ministry said the TRIMING Project has shifted women, youth, and vulnerable groups from the fringes to central roles in agriculture and water governance.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Terlumun Utsev, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Richard Pheelangwah, said TRIMING has “deliberately integrated gender and social safeguards” into irrigation and water resource management across participating states.
The minister listed such success as development of GBV Action Plans across all irrigation schemes; rise of female leadership in Water Users Associations (WUAs); economic empowerment of women through irrigation-linked enterprises; cultural norm shifts driven by grassroots media, storytelling, and capacity building; strengthening of local gender structures, including youth champions and gender desk officers.
“These efforts reflect our commitment to global best practices and World Bank environmental and social safeguards,” Utsev stated, adding that gender-responsive programming is critical for national development.
Project Coordinator, Engr. Ipinlaye Olaiya, said embedding gender priorities into every component of TRIMING has enhanced the project’s long-term sustainability and social impact.
In a goodwill message, representatives of Hadejia Jama’are River Basin, academia, and state ministries of women affairs in Gombe, Kano, and other partner states. They all called for deeper community ownership and sustainability of gender-focused gains.
Mrs. Funmi Imuetinyan the ministry’s director of information and Public relations in a statement revealed that a symbolic high point was the official presentation of leadership badges to women leaders of Water Users Associations from Sokoto Rima, Jigawa, Kano, Gombe, and Zamfara States — a move hailed as a breakthrough in grassroots water governance.
The workshop was organised by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation in collaboration with the World Bank and other development partners.
