Nigeria to scale up crops production to increase food security

A Nigerian official said Wednesday that the government is taking steps to increase food security by advancing the production of crops, including wheat, rice, maize, and sorghum, through the provision of relevant farm inputs.

Ernest Umakhihe, permanent secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said during a forum in the Nigerian capital of Abuja that this goal will be implemented through a national agricultural project which sees to the delivery of farm inputs such as fertilizers, seeds, agrochemicals and others to local small-scale farmers across the most populous African country.

In the wheat production alone, the project will benefit more than 250,000 wheat farmers with relevant farm inputs to cultivate about 250,000 hectares, according to the official.

While scaling up food production, the goal is also to contain the continued rise in the prices of agricultural commodities, Umakhihe said, adding that the expected output from the project is to be added to the food reserve with a view to reducing dependence on foreign importation of crops. Enditem