To assist farmers in increasing seed and grain output, the federal government has obtained a $134 million loan facility from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
During the 2024/2025 National Dry Season farming and wheat cultivation, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Abubakar Kyari made the announcement in Calabar alongside Governor Bassey Otu, his deputy Peter Odey, and international development partners.
On Wednesday, the gathering took place at the Cross River Basin Development Authority, and it was graced by numerous influential figures from the agricultural industry.
He elaborated on how the loan will be useful and ensure national food security by reviving the national dry season farming method, which increases agricultural output all year round.
The minister explained that the program is part of the state’s NAG-AP, or National Agricultural Growth Support Scheme.
He stated that in order to ensure that all Nigerians have easy access to inexpensive, nutritious food, the government has declared a food production emergency.
According to him, the government is planning to boost the economy of the country by utilizing agriculture to grow more wheat, rice, corn, sorghum, soybeans, and cassava in both the dry and rainy seasons.
In the first phase of the 2023–2024 dry season, 107,429 wheat farmers were supported, 43,997 rice farmers in the second phase, and 192,095 in the 2024 wet season across 37 states, including Abuja, for maize, sorghum/millet, soyabean, and cassava.
Among the sixteen states that produce more wheat than Cross River, he said, more than 3,000 farmers have been identified as eligible for subsidies to help them cultivate the crop.
The minister recognized the Cross River government’s commitment to wheat production, saying it informed why the federal government was partnering with the state to kick start the maiden wheat production and enlisting them among states commencing from this current 2024/2025 dry season farming.
This project aims to subsidize agricultural inputs for 250,000 wheat farmers in the wheat-producing states so that they can grow wheat on 250,000 hectares during the 2024–2025 dry season.
The projected harvest is 750,000 metric tons of wheat, which will be added to the food reserve and help decrease reliance on imports while simultaneously increasing domestic consumption.
“Equally the Program will provide support to 150,000 rice farmers under the second phase to cover all the 37 States including FCT, Abuja with an expected output of about 450,000 metric tons.”
Gov. Otu assured the project of the state’s support and collaboration, saying that they have a planned agriculture policy to increase food availability. This is particularly important because her state is regarded as a main wheat farming state.
This will encourage us to work even more to increase food production, specifically in the areas of grains and seeds. Irrigation is another area where this dry season farming will be useful.
The national project director in the federal ministry of agriculture, Mr I. Goba said they will implement the project in two phases where they will support farmers with good quality seeds and grains.