We expect bumper wheat harvest – Agric minister
By Salif Atojoko
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, says wheat farmers are expecting bumper harvest this year as a result of support from the Federal Government.
The minister said this at a media parley with State House correspondents on Tuesday.
He said the expectation of a bumper wheat harvest was based on the Federal Government’s intervention in the phase one of dry season wheat production of 2024-2025, which ended on Dec. 27, 2024.
He said during the programme, that about 300,000 farmers were supported to cultivate 150,000 hectares, which meant one farmer per half a hectare.
He said the Federal Government subsidised wheat seeds to the tune of 75 per cent, with farmers paying 25 per cent of the seed amount.
“Then, in terms of fertilisation, it’s also 50-50, just like we did last year, 50 per cent subsidy of fertiliser to the farmers.
“So, we’re waiting for the vegetative growth and also subsequently, the harvest sometime around March and April.
“We have a lot of expectations this year because the farmers have expressed desires to go into wheat more than ever before, simply because of the attraction and the profit,” the minister said.
He stated that Cross River became a wheat producing state, the first time a southern state joined the other 15 northern wheat producing states.
“It’s a pilot scheme that we’re going to have in the northern part of Cross River. Wheat, of course, is a crop that is cultivated in cold season and under irrigation.
“In addition to the dry season, we also intend to pilot wet season wheat cultivation in highland areas that are temperate, that are colder, places like Taraba , Plateau , and the same Cross River,” Kyari said.
He said from reports received from different parts of the country, there was considerable positive harvest generally in the 2024 farming season.
“We have a harvest that far exceeds that of the previous year in all the major staple crops that we have cultivated during the wet season in 2024.
“Going forward, we also have engaged and have launched the dry season cultivation of 2024 through 2025.
“We launched the dry season cultivation Cross River, on Nov. 14, 2024, when we had the 46th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Food Security which held at the International Convention Centre, Calabar. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Chioma Ugboma
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