In a proactive move to tackle food inflation and respond to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s emergency declaration on food security in July, the Federal Government is poised to officially kick-start the 2023/2024 dry season farming on Saturday, November 25.
Heading the ceremony in Hadejia, Jigawa State, will be the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, accompanied by various dignitaries. At this event, various agricultural inputs, such as seeds, fertiliser, herbicides and pesticides, will be distributed to farmers, with the Federal Government providing a 50 per cent subsidy on these inputs.
The 2023/2024 dry season farming initiative is receiving a boost from an African Development Bank facility and is being executed under the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP) project. The implementation process is technologically driven, involving the geolocation of farmlands, enumeration, registration and clustering of over 250,000 farmers.
Anticipated to occur across all 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, the success of this dry-season farming venture hinges on the availability of irrigable land.
For the upcoming season, crops like wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, soybeans and cassava are in the spotlight. Wheat farmers, especially, have the assurance of an off-take for their produce from the Flour Millers Association of Nigeria.
According to the technical advisor for strategic communication, Kingsley Osadolor, a statement from Kyari describes the flag-off as a monumental step toward realising the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda. The minister emphasises that the provision of agricultural inputs and machinery is expected to enhance cultivation across approximately 120,000 hectares in various parts of the country.
