Food security: FG intends to give wheat growers 50% subsidy

According to Abubakar Kyari, the Minister of Agriculture, the Federal Government is providing wheat growers all throughout the nation with a 50% subsidy in order to achieve appropriate food security.

He claimed that the goal of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope programme was to ensure that Nigeria had reliable food production beginning the following month, with wheat given priority in dry-season farming.

The minister, who was in the states of Jigawa and Kano on Friday to oversee the production of wheat seeds, expressed his happiness.

“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,” said the minister.

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The Federal Government, he continued, is working to generate enough foundation and breeder seeds locally to cover the 70,000 hectares set aside for wheat growing.

“The breeder and foundation seeds were examined before it was decided to gradually stop importing wheat before irrigated farming the next year. This is because importing wheat is depleting Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves, the man claimed.

Kyari pointed out that one option to stop importing seeds and wheat is through the Federal Government’s goal to safeguard the country’s food supply, be self-sufficient, and relied on local production.

“With the programmes outlined, Nigeria would completely cease wheat seed importations and become self-sufficient with the local production, which would enhance food production and security,” he continued.

The minister visited AA Albasu Grain Company, Alyumna Seeds Production Company, and the National Wheat Council Warehouses at Sharada.