Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has restated his commitment to the production of food and especially wheat through handful support to the farmers to improve productivity, while objecting to the idea of using agriculture to manage poverty in the state.
The Governor said that agriculture was now to be treated as a business in the state even as plans were ongoing to “transform agriculture into viable economic activities.”
Ganduje, who made the remarks at the flag-off of the 2015 dry season wheat and rice production in Kura, Kano State, announced that the state’s wheat farming programme has registered 18,200 farmers as part of the priority attention from his government.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe, who decried the huge amount of money spent on food importation by Nigeria annually, said that the N1.3 trillion annually expended on importation of assorted food commodities into the country could be used for other developmental projects if the local production could be aided.
He advised the farmers to replace their replace polythene bags for grain storage with jute bags which would soon be introduced for health and safety sake.
He promised that the universities of agriculture in Nigeria “will be re-oriented to do what they are set up by law to do.” With national mandate for genetic development of wheat, the Executive Director of Lake Chad Research Institute, LCRI, Dr. Gbenga Olabanji, noted that Nigeria has the potential for wheat production and able to produce wheat yielding 8 tons per hectare. He said Nigeria has 600,000 hectares of land that is good for wheat production.
“The production capacity has increased from 1 to 2 tons per hectare to 5 to 6 tons per hectare through improved varieties.
There is market for wheat in Nigeria now.” He announced that, by 2017, a reduction of wheat importation by 50 per cent is possible. While appealing to other wheat-producing states to urgently flag off their own dry programmes, Olabaji said Nigerians must produce what they eat and eat what they produce.
Abubakar Saleh Mohammed, a chieftain of wheat farmers’ association, observed that “wheat farming has started witnessing transformation, bringing policy makers, financial institutions, researchers, millers, farmers and other stakeholders together.
Mohammed recalled that the introduction of Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) value chain has increased wheat production as wheat is now produced in 10 states.
He disclosed that “flour millers are ready to off-take our production” and the “farmers association had positive discussions and agreement with millers recently.”
Auwalu Balarabe, a wheat seed producer, reflected that the ATA and Growth Enhancement Support have proved a lot of success. He hinted that, as at 2012, 2013 and 2014, production of certified seed in Nigeria increased from 14,700 MT in 2011 to 44,400 MT, 140,000 MT and 170,690 MT respectively.
He appealed to the government to come to the aid of seed companies, arguing that the seed producers have taken loans that need to be repaid. Mair Baba Danguldi, a member of the national assembly, representing the House of Representatives, commended former minister of agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, for his work on wheat.