From Gyang Bere, Jos
President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to end wheat importation which cost Nigeria $2 billion annually.
Speaking during the flag-off of the rainfed commercial wheat cultivation at the Wheat Seed Multiplication Farm in Kwall, Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State, yesterday, he charged Nigerian farmers to embrace wheat farming.
Buhari, who was represented by Governor Simon Lalong 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 per cent and 23.78 per cent contribution to the overall GDP in the first and second quarters of 2021 respectively.
He said a key focus of his administration has been the deployment of mechanisms to ensure agriculture thrives to significantly grow the economy and achieve maximum welfare for the citizens by ensuring food and energy security.
Buhari said Nigeria was on the path to actualising sustainability in the production of rice, maize, cassava, soybean, groundnut, oil palm, cocoa and soon the breakthrough in wheat cultivation would be accomplished.
He lamented that Nigeria still spends humongous amounts of money on wheat importation which is not acceptable because the country has the capacity to meet domestic consumption demands and also export.
“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 foreign import bill. This is because millers have had to resort to importation to meet the huge demand for wheat by-products. Wheat cultivation, similar to rice, has the capacity to 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 utilised by farmers.”
The president noted that wheat can also be grown in the wet season in Plateau State as research showed that it can be cultivated in other areas in the country, namely, Gembu Plateau, Taraba State and Obudu in Cross River State.
Buhari commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for using the Anchor Borrowers Programme not just in the agriculture value chain but in almost all sectors of the economy as shown in the recent launch of some transformative initiatives like the 100 for 100 policy for production and productivity.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who was represented by his deputy, Edward Lamtek Adamu, said in order to change the situation and leverage domestic production to bridge the demand-supply gap, CBN decided to add wheat to the list of focal commodities to be supported under its agricultural intervention programmes.
He said improved seeds varieties 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 have been acquired for distribution to farmers.
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 availability of high-yielding seeds to farmers.