On Wednesday, the Federal Government announced its efforts to boost the production of wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, and soybean by providing necessary farm inputs.
Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, made this statement during a stakeholders meeting held in Abuja to discuss the implementation of the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro Pocket (NAGs-AP).
Dr. Umakhihe, represented by Dr. Ibrahim Tanimu, the Director of Planning and Policy Coordination at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, highlighted the provision of fertilizers, seeds, and agrochemicals, among other relevant farm inputs, to small-scale farmers during both wet and dry seasons.
The NAGs-AP, an ICT-based platform, aims to deliver farm inputs such as fertilizers, seeds, agrochemicals, and others to farmers across the country.
The National Agricultural Growth Scheme (NAGS) seeks to increase food production and combat the rising prices of agricultural commodities by focusing on wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, and soybean production through the provision of necessary farm inputs.
“The key objective is to increase the production of wheat, rice, maize, sorghum and soybean through the provision of relevant farm inputs such as fertilizers, seeds, and agro-chemicals among others to small-scale farmers.
” Specifically, the project is targeted to support over 250,000 wheat farmers with relevant farm inputs to cultivate about 250,000 hectares with an expected output of 1,250,000 metric tons of wheat.
“This is to be added to the food reserve to reduce dependence on foreign importation of the product, and increase domestic consumption, particularly for the flour millers,” he said.
In addition to supporting farmers with critical farm inputs for priority crop production, the project also aims to provide institutional support to enhance performance.
Mr. Mohammad Sani, the Director of the Department of Farm Inputs Support Services at the Ministry of Agriculture, emphasized that the reintroduction of the NAGS scheme addresses the needs of various stakeholders along the agricultural value chain.
The ministry will continue collaborating with relevant organizations to help farmers achieve their goals and create a favorable business environment for input operators.
The meeting, led by Mr. Ibrahim Arabi, the National Programme Coordinator of Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Phase One (ATASP-1), was organized to sensitize farmers and develop strategies for the successful implementation of NAGS-AP.
” The capacity to produce needs to increase across the value chain, hence this meeting which is on the strategy for supporting farmers with subsidised inputs and also with the institutional capacity for increased productivity,”‘he said.
