 I'm very delighted to be here at the official commissioning of the Carno River Irrigation Scheme, which is part of the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria project, Trimming, an acclaimed success story of the federal government's intervention in agriculture. Today's occasion is a milestone in the implementation of the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria project. The project itself was conceived, as we've heard, in 2012 as a product of the collaboration with development partners and eventually advanced into an implementable program in June of 2014 when it was approved by the World Bank Board. As part of the federal government determination to address poverty and food insecurity, the federal government has been implementing projects of this nature, this particular project, Trimming, in collaboration with the International Development Association, IDA, the support of the World Bank in the sum of $495.3 million and counterpart funding from the federal government in the sum of $44 million. The objective of the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria project, Trimming, is to enhance the productivity of 140,000 farmers within and near the following four rehabilitated irrigation schemes in the northern part of our country. The Baccalaureate Irrigation Scheme in Zamfara State. The Middle Rim Irrigation Scheme in Sokoto State. The Kano River Irrigation Scheme and of course the Hadeja Valley Irrigation Scheme which the President commissioned in Jigawa State only a few weeks ago. The project provides technical assistance for farmers at each irrigation scheme and facilitates strong forward and backward linkages along the value chains. The project itself is an innovative approach adopted by the federal government which has opened up the access to life-changing opportunities for many of the farming communities that are involved in the project. The project itself also serves as a vehicle to effectively harness the whole potential of vast water resources, the whole of our water resources infrastructure, some of which were built over 40 years ago, but have likely remained either unutilized or grossly underutilized. We just heard from His Excellency the Governor of Kano State how the first civilian governor of Kano State, Aoudubako, was the one who initiated the scheme so many years ago, over 40 years ago, but the scheme has remained useful and is one that we are able to take advantage of today. The main beneficiaries of the project include business stakeholders, irrigation and drainage entities, water users associations, farmers, rural dwellers, all in the project areas. Through the first direct infrastructure investments covering about 37,500 hectares across six states, concurrent activities in agriculture and on farm water management in this area, approximately 140,000 farm families with about 1 million people are going to directly benefit or are already directly benefiting. Today's event is a clear demonstration of the commitment of the administration of President Mohamed Ibuhari to transform the conditions of our people in the communities of our nation's bread baskets. In this case, by optimizing our water resources in ways that will revolutionize the local and cultural economy and ultimately enhance the food security of the Nigerian people. The practical advantages of unshackling our farmers from the constraints of rain-fed farming and boosting their capacity for year-round farming cannot be understated. And this is precisely what we are doing through this project. On the part of the beneficiary communities, we have seen that substantial infrastructure and other water distribution facilities have been rehabilitated and modernized, in some cases even replaced. Through the years, these communities have suffered the frustration of poorly maintained water distribution facilities with their tend and losses that have ensued. And it's my hope that we will now see these facilities as ours, that the communities and the state government, local government will see these facilities as theirs and embrace the collective responsibility of preserving them and ensuring their sustainability. The commissioning of the Carnot iteration of the scheme today is in good parts because of the tenacity of the governor of the state himself, His Excellency, Governor Omar Ganduje, who in collaboration with the Ministry of Water Resources, has ensured that the project was completed and has been officially commissioned today. We must also, of course, commend the Honorable Minister of Water Resources and his team in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria Project Steering Committee, and the Project Management Unit for this achievement. Please keep up the good work. Thank you all very much for your kind attention.