Nigeria. $2b international support to boost wheat cultivation

More than $2 billion will be deployed   to help reduce wheat importation  and boost cultivation in Nigeria and the rest of Africa. The support is coming  from African Development Bank (AfDB) and international organisations.

The support covers improving the crop and breed varieties, farming management practices, and special fertiliser to   develop higher yields and  put income into vulnerable smallholder farmers’ pockets.

Last year, Nigeria imported N1.29 trillion worth of wheat. The   first quarter of this year, N258.3 billion worth of wheat was imported, according to  the National Bureau of Statistics in a 2021 report on wheat production in Nigeria.

AfDB is driving a $1 billion plan to boost wheat production in Africa  to avert  shortages arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Its President, Akinwumi Adesina said the bank is raising the funds to help 40 million African farmers utilise climate-resilient technologies and increase their output of heat-tolerant wheat varieties and other crops.

With support from AfDB, the Federal Government is targetting at least 250,000 hectares of wheat to put under cultivation in clusters of 100 to 200 hectares  using a roadmap contained in the national wheat strategy document for self-sufficiency.

The document revealed a strategy that will promote a sustainable wheat production system through increased productivity from 3.0t/ha to 6.0t/ha and production from 71,000 tonnes to 6.0million metric tonnes  by next year.

Also, the Project Manager and Head of Agronomy Services and farmers centric Projects at OCP Africa, Dr. Donald Madukwe, said the organisation had made progress in its  partnership  with the Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI), Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IART), and Bayero University Kano (BUK)  to raise national wheat production and boost farmers’ productivity.

According to him, its partnership  with research institutions is to  develop a specialised fertiliser for wheat at the second stage of field trials.

He explained that field trials were designed   to determine the yield limiting nutrients and their optimum rate, respectively.

Data from trials conducted by different sites across the country by  research institutes  involved,he explained,   were collected and analysed  to see the crop’s yield response to the special  fertiliser.

He said so much has been achieved in terms of establishing  recommended fertiliser dose for  wheat crop as well as its relevance to achieve potential yield at farm level.

He explained that the new specialized fertiliser when formally launched would reach a high number of farmers thanks to effective teamwork between the various stakeholders.

He added that private companies will be invited to produce the new fertiliser formulation in order to bring the benefits to farming communities.

He sees the project as a milestone for agricultural research in the country , emphasising  the importance of soil fertility management for achieving wheat  security targets set by the Government.

Tags: wheat, Nigeria