Sen. Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, says wheat farmers are expecting a bumper harvest this year as a result of the support given to them by the Federal Government.
The Minister said this at a media parley with State House correspondents.
He said the expectation of a bumper wheat harvest was based on the Federal Government intervention in the phase one of dry season wheat production of 2024-2025, which ended on Dec. 27, 2024.
He said during the programme, about 300,000 farmers were supported to cultivate 150,000 hectares, which is 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 their desire to go into wheat more than ever before, simply because of the attraction and the profit,” said the Minister.
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 State, Plateau State, and the same Cross River State,” said Kyari.
He said according to reports received from different parts of the country, there was considerable positive harvest generally in 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 have also engaged and have launched the dry season of 2024 through 2025.
“We launched the dry season in Calabar, Cross River State, on Nov. 14, 2024, when we had the National Agricultural Council in Cross River State,” he said.