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| Minister of Agriculture Abubakar Kyari during the planting demonstration in Kadume village, Hadija. |
By Salisu K Ismail
Federal government said it has set a target to support about 250,000 wheat farmers with subsidised farming inputs in order to cultivate an expected yield of 1,250,000 tonnes of wheat this dry season.
This was made known by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Abubakar Kyari while flagging off
the 2023/2024 Dry season farming under the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-Pocket Project (NAGS &AP) held, Saturday, at Kadume village, Hadejia local government area in Jigawa State.
The Minister explained that, "In this regard, we have set ambitious targets. In wheat alone, we aim to support between 150,000 to 250,000 farmers with 50% input subsidy to cultivate between 200,000 to 250,000 hectares and an expected yield of 1,250,000 tonnes of wheat."
Senator Abubakar Kyari also said today's historical occasion is inline with this year's 'Declaration of State of Emergency on Food Security' by President Bola Tinubu on 13th of July, 2023.
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| The Minister while having a look at the design of the captured land for the cultivation. |
According to the Minister, "Other selected staples are also earmarked for similar, varied support, all aimed at significantly reducing food inflation, as well as Nigeria’s dependence on foreign import, while increasing domestic consumption. Ultimately, this will promote agricultural self-sufficiency and stimulate economic growth."
He then assured that, government is committed to ensure that the support does get to the farmer to achieve the desired goals.
"The aim is to increase crop yield by at least 20% compared to the previous year. These high value staples will be joined by others like soybeans and sorghum in the wet season," the minister revealed.
In his remark at the occasion, the Jigawa State Governor Umar Namadi stated that, "the Wheat Development Program of the federal government is perfectly aligns with several aspects of his 12-Point Agenda for Greater Jigawa particularly as it affects food security, economic diversification, job creation, provision of sustainable means of livelihoods for the citizens, and overall poverty reduction.
Governor Namadi mentioned that, "It is expected that,the capacity of over 42,000 smallholder farmers will be significantly expanded through their participation in the current Program," Namadi noted.
He also said, "Each of the selected farmers would be provided with input subsidy support granted by the Federal Government equivalent to 50% of the estimated cost of packaged input requirements amounting to about N361,000 per hectare."
"While each farmer is expected to pay only 12.5% of the total cost of input package equivalent to about N42,125 per hectare at the point of input collection, the balance of N135,275 would be recovered after harvest." the governor confirmed.
Governor Umar Namadi therefore said In order to provide comfort to the Federal Government and input Suppliers, the Jigawa State Government has worked out an arrangement with Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) to provide guarantee for the balance of 37.5% of the cost of inputs supplied.
He cleared that, The Jigawa State Government will provide free high-quality extension service to the wheat farmers for which arrangements have been concluded for the engagement and training of additional 1,440 extension agents to ensure full coverage.
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| Emir of Hadejia with the minister while demonstrating the planting. |
He pleaded the benefiting farmers to seriously heed to the guidance to be provided by the extension agents."
The governor who thanks federal government on behalf of the people of Jigawa state highlighted that, the full package support comprises of appropriate mix of fertilizer, in-organic liquid urea, organic fertilizer fortified with booster/ growth enhancer, certified wheat seeds, and herbicides among others.
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