The Bola Tinubu administration has expressed its determination to boost food and nutrition security as it prepares farmers for the 2024 wet season farming.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, who gave the assurance in Abuja while giving an update on government’s preparation for wet season farming recently, said that the administration was boosting domestic production of staple crops to enhance food security in the country.
Kyari said that the ministry would soon distribute 2.15 million bags of assorted fertilisers donated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to Nigerian farmers.
He said that the fertilisers donated by CBN comprised UREA, NPK and SSP were valued at over N100 billion.
“Well, we have a donation 2.15 million bags of assorted fertilisers from the CBN. We are in the process of taking possession of those (fertilisers). We will start the distribution of these fertilisers especially in those areas where wet season farming has begun,” he said.
Kyari also revealed that 500 tractors assembled by the John Deere Group were donated to the ministry to improve mechanised farming, increase production, and achieve food and nutrition security.
The minister said that the initiative was aimed at catalysing farming activities and nutrition security in line with President Bola Tinubu’s emergency declaration on food security.
He reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to improving food and nutrition security through mechanization by making tractors accessible and affordable for small, large-scale, and cooperative farmers across the country.
The Federal Government in February, empowered small holder farmers in the 36 states and FCT with agricultural inputs to enhance productivity, improve resilience and embrace sustainable practices.