FG To Produce 31 Million MT Of Grains In 2024

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Aliyu Abdullahi, has said the production of 31 Million MT of grains in 2024 will combat food inflation, create jobs, and reduce poverty.

Abdullahi on Wednesday stated this at the opening session of the 6th edition of Seed Connect Conference and Exhibition with the theme ‘’ Global Declaration of Food Emergency – The Role of the Seed Industry and Ensuring Africa’s Food and Nutrition Security’’ in Abuja.

He said, ‘’Nigeria’s seed requirement for rice, maize, wheat, soybeans and sorghum in 2024 is 312,555.69MT of seeds, which is expected to give almost 31million MT of grains’’.

He added that the farmers are being supported with quality seeds for rice, maize, soybean and other inputs at a subsidized rate.

He further said that ‘’pasture seeds development, fodder and foliage estates that will gradually eliminate farmers and herders clashes, creation of gene banks facilities is also a short term intervention that the administration is pursuing’’.

According to him, the Ministry has outlined a series of critical pathways to solve the food security challenges. This pathway is streamlined into short-term, intermediate, and long-term actions.

Speaking on issues of farmers accessing financial support, he reiterated that reforms are ongoing at the Bank of Agriculture amongst others to meet farmers’ needs.