News in brief:
-Â Nigeria’s federal government announced a 50% subsidy on agricultural inputs for dry season farming to boost production of maize, rice, and sorghum across the country.
– The AfDB’s NAGS-AP project will also support the initiative by using digital technology to reach and register farmers.
Nigeria’s federal government has agreed to subsidise agricultural inputs for farmers by 50% as dry season farming is set to commence Novermber 25, 2023.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
PRESS RELEASE
FG SET TO FLAG OFF DRY SEASON FARMING
As part of measures to combat food inflation in the country and as a direct response to President Bola Ahmed Tinubuâs declaration of emergency on food security earlier in July this year, the Federal Government will onâ¦
â Nig Federal Ministry of Agriculture &Food Security (@NGfmafs) November 23, 2023
According to the statement, the Minister of Agriculture, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, and other dignitaries will launch the dry season farming in Jigawa state. The occasion will also include the distribution of seedlings, herbicides, pesticides and other inputs to farmers.
The dry farming will be taing place across all 36 states of the country and the federal capital territory (FCT), Abuja.
Additionally, the 2023/2024 dry season farming will receive the support of the African Development Bank (AfDB) through the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP) project.
The ministry has assured that it will be executing the NAGS-AP project using digital technology and has has already geolocated and registered no fewer than 250,000 farmers.
Furthermore, it explained that for this yearâs dry season farming, it is targeting crops such as maize, rice, and sorghum with seedlings already imported from Mexico.
The Federal Governmentâs decision to subsidise agricultural inputs by 50% is expected to boost agricultural production in the country and help to reduce food prices while improving food security for all Nigerians.
Adopting digital technology to execute the NAGS-AP project, meanwhile, is expected to ensure that the inputs reach the farmers who need them most.
