The Federal Government has announced plans to cultivate 750,000 hectares of land for maize, wheat, rice, and cassava farming through the National Agricultural Growth Scheme Agro-pocket project to tackle the country’s food inflation.
The Minister of State for Agriculture, Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi, made this disclosure at the 2024 Sahel Food Systems Change Makers Conference, held on Tuesday in Abuja.
The event’s theme is “Innovative Governance Models: A Pathway for Food and Nutrition Security in Nigeria.”
The Initiative aims to boost productivity, enhance cropping intensity, and expand production areas.
According to Abdullahi, these efforts will increase the availability of locally produced foods, improving both household and national food security, while also building resilience to external shocks and supporting livelihoods for economic stability.
Abdullahi emphasized the government’s focus on year-round farming, utilizing both the rainy and dry seasons to maximize food production.
“This is because one of the challenges is a high cost of food, so when there is abundant food definitely it will bring down the prices of food,” he said.
Irrigation in Dry Season Farming
In addition, He said that the government is shifting from single-season farming to all-year-round farming by embracing irrigation during the dry season.
“We are trying to look inward at our massive potential. Nigerians do not want to look at the potential, they want to eat food, but the potential is there in terms of areas where we can do irrigation,” he explained.
The minister also highlighted the presence of large water resources, such as the Niger and Benue rivers, and stressed the need to leverage river basins for agricultural production.
“We have the national agricultural growth scheme agro-pocket project where we are targeting 750,000 hectares of land for maize, wheat, rice, and cassava where possible.
“Overall, we are changing the narrative, and when we finish the dry season farming, the rainy season should keep coming,” he said.
Abdullahi mentioned the possibility of three-season farming in certain situations, which depends on access to improved seed varieties.
“So our research institutes are focusing on climate-smart technologies by ensuring that we have varieties of our crops that will be short duration, drought-tolerant, and disease-resistant,” he added.
He further noted that the event’s theme aligns with the need for transformation in agricultural ecosystems, stressing the importance of adopting modern methods.
“When you bring the structure of change in any system, it is significant, adding that we cannot continue our agriculture methods in the old ways,” the minister said.
What you should know
Nigeria is currently grappling with a food security crisis, with food inflation soaring to 40.5% as households nationwide struggle to meet their basic needs.
- The prices of staple foods, particularly grains, have surged by over 100% in the past year, further straining household budgets and exacerbating the challenges in an already fragile economy.
- Projections suggest that approximately 31 million Nigerians may face severe food shortages, demonstrating the urgent need for strategic interventions.
- In response, the federal government recently announced plans to provide N50,000 to 100,000 households across all 36 states for three months and allocate N155 billion for food items to be distributed nationwide.
- President Bola Tinubu disclosed these measures during the recent National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, where he also outlined construction, housing, and other support programs aimed at easing economic pressures.
The president further urged state governors to prioritize efforts to address the food security needs within their respective states.
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