President Muhammadu Buhari.
By Marie-Therese Nanlong
Jos – President Muhammadu Buhari has flag-off the first rain-fed commercial wheat cultivation in Nigeria at the Wheat Seed Multiplication Farm in Kwall, Bassa LGA of Plateau State on Tuesday.
The President lamented that Nigeria still spends humongous amounts of money on wheat import, saying such is not acceptable because the country has the capacity to cultivate wheat to meet domestic consumption demands and export.
He charged Nigerian farmers to embrace wheat farming and stop the import of the product which gulps over two billion dollars annually.
Represented by the Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong at the event, Buhari noted that the Agricultural sector is one of the critical non-oil sectors which has made significant contributions to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) accounting for a 22.35 and 23.78 percent contribution to the overall GDP in the first and second quarters of 2021 respectively.
He stated a key focus of his administration has been the deployment of mechanisms to ensure that agriculture thrives in Nigeria to significantly grow the economy and achieve maximum welfare for the citizens by ensuring food and energy security, adding, Nigeria is on the path to actualizing sustainability in the production of rice, maize, cassava, soybean, groundnut, oil palm, cocoa, and very soon the breakthrough in wheat cultivation in Nigeria will be accomplished.
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His words, “It is important to stress that Nigeria currently spends over $2 billion on the importation of wheat annually, one of the key contributors to the Nation’s huge import bill. This is because millers have had to resort to importing wheat to meet the huge demand for wheat by-products. Wheat cultivation, similar to rice can thrive in Nigeria due to the tropical climatic conditions. Currently, wheat is cultivated in many Northern states particularly in the dry season due to the high heat tolerance of the seed utilized by farmers.
“Wheat can also be grown in the wet season in Plateau State as research also shows that it can be cultivated in other Plateaus in the country, namely, Gembu Plateau, Taraba State and Obudu Plateau, Cross River State. I urge these states to take advantage of this opportunity and key into the initiative.”
Earlier, the CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele represented by Deputy Governor Edward Adamu said the flag off of the wheat value chain heralds the commencement of the Nigerian Brown Revolution journey, which is the first major wet season wheat production in Nigeria with about 700 hectares put under cultivation in Kwall, Kassa, Jol, Kafi Abu and Sopp, all in Plateau State and the short-term implication of this is the addition of about 2,000 metric tons of seeds to national seed stock and the CBN will not rest on its oars as “…we continue to work with our partners, Lake Chad Research Institute, LCRI, to expand the frontiers of wheat production in Nigeria to areas like northern Oyo, Kogi and Kwara states”.
He also assured that the two-pronged approach of seed multiplication and grains production which has been adopted is expected to sustain the propagation of seeds and guarantee the availability of high-yielding seeds to farmers.
The CBN Governor stated “Wheat is the third most widely consumed grain in Nigeria after maize and rice. It is estimated that the country only produces about one percent (63,000 metric tons) of the 5-6 million metric tons of the commodity consumed annually in Nigeria. This enormous demand-supply gap is bridged with over $2 billion spent annually on wheat importation. This has made wheat the second highest contributor to the country’s food import bill. Given the high growth rate of the country’s population and the demographic structure, the demand for wheat is projected to continue to rise. This can only intensify pressure on the country’s reserves unless we take a decisive step to grow wheat locally.
“Over the years, the availability of low-yielding seeds variety locally and poor agronomic practices have hampered successful cultivation of wheat in Nigeria. It has led to low productivity, making wheat production unappealing to farmers and unattractive for private sector investment. In order to change the situation and leverage domestic production to bridge the demand-supply gap in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria has decided to add wheat to the list of focal commodities to be supported under the Bank’s agricultural intervention programmes.
“Improved seeds varieties is the bedrock of any crop production process. We have made some progress in this regard with the acquisition of high yielding varieties from Mexico with potential average yield per hectare of 5-7 metric tons as against a range of 0.8-1.8 metric tons yield per hectare of those varieties previously cultivated. Our strategy for the wheat value chain involves: Ensuring availability of high-yield seeds by financing seed multiplication and establishment of seed ripple centres.
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“Expanding land under cultivation for wheat to a capacity that can meet total national demand through association and collaboration with relevant federal agencies and state governments.
Pursuing strategic collaboration with key stakeholders in the wheat value chain for sustained local production.
This strategy seeks to reduce wheat importation by 60% in two years and ultimately eliminate wheat importation or reduce it to an insignificant contributor to the country’s total food import bill.”
The State Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Hosea Finangwai, Gbong Gwom Jos, Da Jacob Buba, President of Wheat Farmers Association, Salim Mohammed, and the DG Lake Chad Research Institute, all commended the initiative by the Federal Government and said the people need to own the process by ensuring that middlemen do not hijack the initiative for profit, leaving them to wallow in poverty.
