Obtains and distributes high-yield wheat seeds to farmersThe Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS) has made it a goal to promote efficient dry-season farming throughout Nigeria in order to increase food production.
This was announced on Tuesday in Lagos by Senator Abubakar Kyari, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, during a tour of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc's Apapa Bulk Terminal Facility.
The Flour Millers Association of Nigeria (FMAN) facilitated the importation of 6,750MT of certified wheat seeds with good yields, and the minister observed their offloading and dispatch during their visit.
Speaking alongside Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, his minister of state, and other top FMAFS officials, the minister said that the Federal Government's decision to use the seed variety Borlaug 100 is a sign of its determination to significantly increase output and, as a result, lessen the country's reliance on wheat imports.
Kyari stated: "The government's use of the FMAN mechanism to obtain seeds is indicative of the administration of Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu's unwavering commitment to the sustainable transformation of the food production capacities of the Nigerian farming populace."
He explained that this was based on the association's well-established history of gradually accelerating the expansion of wheat development in Nigeria through a number of successful projects.
Senator Kyari, who was clearly ecstatic, noted that the Tinubu administration's desire to create workable public-private partnerships is fueled by this track record as it works to increase local food production and lessen reliance on imported agricultural goods.
In light of this, the minister said, "to vouchsafe the viability and sustainability of the national wheat production plan, the FMAFS is forging a productivity-enhancement partnership with the FMAN in wheat production."
"My ministry is aware of the quirks and related difficulties that the Nigerian wheat value chain faces, and we have the President's complete mandate to make the investments required to support and enhance Nigeria's domestic wheat production capacity," he stated.
Being present to lead the minister on the tour, Mr. John G. Coumantaros, the Chairman of FMAN, stated that the organization has started and carried out notable projects that have aided Nigeria's objective for wheat development.
In this context, the group has developed funds for wheat farmers' capacity building and research, and it has also given input loans to more than 7,000 farmers.
As stated by Coumantaros, "FMAN has assisted and obtained more than 51 thousand metric tonnes of wheat grain from 504 collection stations located throughout 15 states in Nigeria throughout the years.
"The association's primary areas of impact continue to be in the development of human capital, where it has directly aided over 100,000 smallholder farmers with essential training, irrigation and land preparation equipment, mechanized harvesting and threshing services, and strong agronomic support—all with the goal of raising crop yield and profitability.
"Consequently, establishing a collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is entirely consistent with FMAN's objective to promote national wheat production self-sufficiency," the speaker stated.
The Federal Government's plan for wheat self-sufficiency is part of the "overall productivity intensification strategy encapsulated in the National Agricultural Growth Scheme (NAGS), aiming to support smallholder farmers across the country with input subsidy to enhance productivity across six staple commodity value chains of maize, cassava, sorghum, rice, soybeans, and wheat," according to Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, Minister of State for FMAFS.
The program, which has the backing of the African Development Bank (AfDB), is an essential component of the Federal Government's broader strategy for transforming the agricultural sector that is presently being implemented nationwide.
"A comprehensive wet season exercise will follow the dry season farming, which centers around four commodities: wheat, rice, maize, and cassava, all aimed at ensuring that food is available and affordable for Nigerians," Abdullahi said.