The Federal Government has announced an ambitious plan to generate approximately N160 billion from wheat cultivation during the upcoming 2025/2026 dry season. This initiative is a core part of Nigeria's strategy to achieve food sovereignty and drastically reduce its reliance on expensive wheat imports.
Ambitious Targets for National Food Security
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, unveiled this target during the official launch of the Subsidised Agricultural inputs Distribution programme in Jere Local Government Area, Borno State. The programme falls under the National Agricultural Growth and Agro Pocket Project (NAGS-AP).
Senator Kyari provided specific details, revealing that the Ministry has allocated 40,000 hectares of land for this dry season wheat production and has successfully registered 80,000 farmers to participate. He highlighted the project's impressive growth trajectory by comparing it to previous years.
"Under the 2023/2024 dry season wheat production programme, a total of 107,429 registered farmers were supported with critical subsidised inputs, resulting in an output valued at N474,628,000," the Minister stated. "During the 2024/2025 dry season, 279,297 registered farmers received support, with an output valued at N893,750,004 billion."
Strategic Implementation and Nationwide Reach
To ensure the success of the 2025/2026 season, the NAGS-AP programme will deploy Agricultural Extension Agents to train farmers on modern agronomic practices and provide ongoing field support. Furthermore, Fertiliser and Seed Quality Control Officers will be mobilized to guarantee that all distributed inputs meet the highest standards, which is crucial for achieving improved yields and higher productivity.
The minister emphasized that the wheat component of NAGS-AP now covers sixteen states across the federation. These are Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Cross River, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara.
"The inclusion of Cross River last year expanded wheat production into the southern region for the first time and strengthened our national capacity to diversify production across ecological zones," Kyari pointed out.
He also stressed that the project is deliberately designed to be inclusive, ensuring that women and young people have equitable access to inputs, training, and opportunities within the agricultural sector.
State-Level Commitment and Farmer Resolve
In his remarks, the Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum, expressed gratitude for the federal government's continuous support. He described the event as a "celebration of hope, resilience, and our unwavering commitment to ensuring that no family in Borno State goes hungry and no farmer is left behind."
Governor Zulum reaffirmed his administration's dedication to all-season farming by providing essential infrastructure, modern machinery, improved seeds, and other critical inputs to boost productivity. He noted that Borno State, with its vast arable land in the Lake Chad Basin, remains a promising agricultural frontier for Nigeria.
Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Alhaji Haruna Umaru, a representative of the smallholder farmers, pledged that farmers would work diligently to increase production in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda for the agricultural sector.
The event culminated in the symbolic distribution of subsidised agricultural inputs to smallholder farmers, marking the practical start of the dry season farming campaign.
