The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, revealed that the ministry has injected an estimated value of N309 billion into Nigeria’s economy. He made this announcement during his presentation on the sectoral update to mark the one-year anniversary of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda.’
Sen. Kyari highlighted the success of the dry season farming initiative, particularly the cultivation of 118,657 hectares of wheat in 15 states. He noted that 107,429 wheat farmers received inputs, resulting in an output of 474,628 metric tons, which contributed to the injected value into the economy.
Additionally, Kyari mentioned that Jigawa State exceeded its target by producing over 50,000 metric tons of wheat. He outlined various measures taken by the ministry to boost production, including the distribution of seeds, seedlings, agrochemicals, fertilizers, fungicides, and equipment to farmers across different value chains.
In the livestock sector, the minister highlighted the establishment of micro-earth dams, boreholes, milk collection centers, feed mills, and livestock centers. He also mentioned vaccination programs and artificial insemination initiatives to improve animal health and production.
Regarding the tractor assembly program, Kyari acknowledged the delay in its implementation despite the signing of an MoU with John Deere and Tata Africa. He also mentioned the certification and release of 23 improved crop varieties by the National Varietal Release Committee to Nigerian farmers.
Kyari emphasized the training of extension agents and discussed challenges such as foreign exchange impacting fertilizer production. He also addressed the scarcity of tomatoes, attributing it to the Tomato Ebola infestation affecting tomato farms in the country.
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