The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has described as unacceptable the $2 billion annual wheat importation to the country.
Speaking at the National Root Crops Research Institute in Kuru near Jos, the Plateau State capital at the Lake Chad Research Institute 1st Rainfed Wheat National Farmers Field Day, the minister said coupled with the scarcity of wheat in the international market as a result of the Russian-Ukraine war, Nigeria has no other choice than to boost its wheat production.
He said the rainfed wheat production initiative is therefore a welcome development as it will significantly reduce the cost of production of wheat, unlike when it was only planted in the dry season with an irrigation system.
Kyari stressed that Nigeria has all it takes to be self-sufficient in wheat production, adding that according to a 2020 CBN report Nigeria has over one million hectares of land that can be used for seed production, as well as the wheat farmers ready to produce the grain.
He said, if all hands are put on deck, the nation will achieve its dream of attaining self-sufficiency in wheat production in no distant time.
