Minister Abubakar Kyari, in an effort to invigorate wheat cultivation, shared that the Federal Government will be implementing a 50% subsidy for wheat farmers during the forthcoming dry season farming, aiming to stimulate a substantial surge in the country’s grain production.
Africa Today News, New York, learned that Kyari spoke to newsmen shortly after inspecting assorted seed wheat productions in Kano on Friday.
‘We are fully committed towards massive wheat production in the upcoming dry seasons farming for local and foreign export actions,’ he said.
Shedding light on the matter, he highlighted that President Tinubu’s renewed agenda is designed to guarantee Nigeria’s food production, commencing as early as next month, with particular attention to the importance of wheat farming during the dry season.
After supervising the seed production in Kano and Jigawa, the minister expressed his satisfaction, underscoring the fundamental role that local production plays in the farming industry.
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‘Jigawa State has shown a lot of interest in wheat farming by providing 40,000 hectares of land for wheat farming, closing on the 70,000 hectares set aside by the Federal Government to achieve this year,’ he said.
The minister explained that the Federal Government was making efforts to have enough seeds to cover the 70,000 hectares provided for wheat farming.
‘The breeder and foundation seeds were checked before it became satisfied to phase out wheat importation before next year’s irrigation farming.’
‘This is because importation of the wheat is taking a lot of Nigeria’s foreign reserve.’
Pointing out the government’s objectives, Kyari stressed the Federal Government’s focus on securing the country’s food production and achieving self-sufficiency, highlighting the complete cessation of seed imports through the promotion of local production as a key strategy.
‘In the next 4-5 years, with the Programmes set out, Nigeria would completely stop importations of wheat seeds and be self-sufficient with the local production that would enhance food production and security.’
During his inspection, the minister visited the National Wheat Council Warehouses at Sharada, as well as the AA Albasu Grains Company and Alyumna Seeds Production Company.