Having realised the potential in the agricultural sector and the challenge the nation stands to face with food insecurity, President Bola Tinubu is prepared to invest heavily in farmers and the production of grains in large quantities.
You see, one thing that any good government is expected to do, is ensure that there is food security.
Indeed, this is important in a country like Nigeria, where food insecurity can lead to restiveness and chaos among other things.
It is a situation that is making the Federal Government focus on food production.
Basically, the government hopes to address the pressing issue of food insecurity and combat inflation through this.
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According to the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Abdullahi, plans are in motion to produce 31 million metric tonnes of grains in 2024.
Abdullahi revealed this during the opening session of the 6th edition of the Seed Connect Conference and Exhibition on Wednesday.
FG To Produce 31 Metric Tonnes Of Grains
Addressing the participants, he said, the government was committed to providing over 300,000 metric tonnes of seeds to farmers across the country.
The Federal Government wants to increase the production of five major crops which are Rice, Maize, Wheat, Soybeans, and Sorghum in 2024.
Furthermore, Abdullahi said that “Nigeria needed about 312,555.69 metric tonnes of grains to achieve this feat”.
“This is expected to yield almost 31 million metric tonnes of grains,” Abdullahi stated.
According to him, “the Ministry has outlined a series of critical pathways to solve the food security challenges.
“These pathways are streamlined into short-term, intermediate, and long-term actions.
“One immediate priority is the certification of available planting material for some food security crops in the dry season farming”.
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Support from Agricultural finance institutions
The minister said financial assistance was coming from the African Development Bank (AfDB), to cultivate about 70,000 hectares of wheat.
He also revealed that the ministry was getting support from the National Agricultural Development Fund, and the Bank of Agriculture.
Also, he hinted that the Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Corporation would continue to provide financing support to farmers, and it will be short-term.
