By Stella Odueme
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari has said that the climate resilient rainfed wheat varieties would increase production, reduce the cost of Importation, achieve Food and Nutrition Security as well as ensure strong financial returns to Nigerian Farmers.
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The Minister made this known during the Second National Rainfed Wheat Farmers’ Field Day held in Kuru, Jos, Plateau State over the weekend.
Kyari stated that ‘’the development and successful cultivation of rainfed wheat in Kuru is nothing short of transformative. It means that wheat production is no longer confined to irrigated zones’’.
In a statement by the Head, Department of Information, Ezeaja Ikemefuna, on Monday, the minister revealed that ‘’ Farmers in the highlands of Jos, Mambila and Obudu in Plateau, Taraba and Cross River States respectively can now grow wheat during the rainy season naturally, sustainably, and profitably.
This innovation opens the door to a future where Nigeria’s wheat demand can be met by our own farmers and grown on our own soil.
“This milestone represents more than scientific advancement, it is a bold step toward achieving food and nutrition security for our great nation’’.
The Minister commended the Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI) for its groundbreaking achievement in developing these rainfed wheat varieties, a true testament to Nigerian ingenuity and scientific excellence.
He reaffirmed the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who has placed agriculture at the very centre of Nigeria’s economic transformation and national security strategy.
According to him, ‘’ the President recognizes that no nation can be truly sovereign unless it can feed itself, employ its youth, and create prosperity from its land. Agriculture has therefore been elevated from a development programme to a presidential priority, driving food security, economic diversification, and inclusive growth’’.
He pointed out that ‘’ the Federal Government is implementing a comprehensive agricultural renewal plan anchored on mechanization, input access, credit expansion, post-harvest management, and strategic partnerships to unlock productivity across value chains’’.
He stated that ‘’through strategic partnerships with development agencies, private-sector investors, and state governments, we are scaling up rainfed wheat cultivation from pilot fields like this into hundreds of thousands of hectares nationwide, ensuring farmers have access to certified seeds, modern mechanization services, and reliable market linkages, making wheat production profitable and sustainable’’.
The Minister outlined the federal Government’s renewed hope agenda in the agricultural sector which included; Renewed Hope Mechanization Initiative, over 2,000 tractors and combined harvesters have been deployed nationwide in the first phase, affordable financing and innovative services for farmers and agribusinesses, the recapitalization of the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) and operationalized the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) to ensure sustainable financing for agricultural investments, value-chain infrastructure, innovation, and rural enterprise development, among others.
He appealed to the partners, development agencies, private sector actors, and state governments, ‘’I invite you to join us in scaling up this success. Together, we can build agro-industrial value chains that create jobs, reduce imports, and boost national income and reduce the importing billions of naira worth of wheat annually, to becoming self-sufficient and ultimately, exporters of quality Nigerian wheat’’.
