Segun Awofadeji
A total of 150,000 farmers under the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Anchor Borrowers’ Program (ABP) who are into wheat farming in 15 Northern states are to have their yields procured by the Flour Milling Association of Nigeria (FMAN) in the various established procurement centers across the states
The states include: Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto, Bauchi, Adamawa, Katsina, Gombe, Plateau, Taraba, Zamfara, Niger and Yobe.
The move as contained in a statement from FMAN was to sustainably expand wheat production in the country, increase farmers’ yields and make wheat competitive.
The development program for the 2021-2022 season included: Cultivation of 500 demonstration farms across the 15 northern states to provide training on good agronomic practices to 150000 farmers under the CBN’s ABP;
Expansion of FMAN’s direct outgrower program with input loans to cover over 2,000 farmers in 7 states – Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi, Kaduna, Bauchi and Gombe.
Also, it includes the expansion of seed production with six certified seed companies, including both dry and wet season seeds and produce sufficient seed for 5,000 outgrowers next season.
The partners for the program include Romarey Seeds, Premier Seeds, Lifted Agro, Greenspore, Sow Agritech and Noba Africa.
According to FMAN in the statement made available to newsmen yesterday in Bauchi, during the celebration of the Wheat Farmers Green Field Day, research trials were on its 10-hectare research farm in Jigawa for testing new seed varieties and improved agronomic practices. These it listed to include collaboration with Lake Chad Research Institute, CIMMYT and ICARDA Grant funding for National Agricultural Seeds Council to expand their capabilities to test seed quality, certify seed production and train farmers to differentiate high-quality seed from others in the marke.
The association however agreed that transforming wheat production in Nigeria required a strong vision backed by clear roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders.
“To this end, we will be organising state-wide Field Days in all our major areas of operations to bring together key stakeholders to address real-time challenges and learn from each other, as well as a Wheat Farmers Yield Championship at the end of the season to recognise the highest performing farmers,” FMAN stated.
It added: “We look forward to partnering with organisations across the value chain to improve farmers yields through high quality seeds, expanded extension services, and improved access to irrigation, all based on sound data and evidence.
“FMAN has made significant impact on the wheat sector, and our level of our support has been both consistent and increasing.
“Our focus has been on research and development, seed production, agronomic and input support and purchasing of local wheat. Specific interventions include: Purchased 20,000 tons of wheat valued at about 4 Billion Naira over the past five years.”
It also signed an MoU each year with Wheat Farmers Association of Nigeria (WFAN) to buy any quantity of wheat available at an attractive price based on farmer yields; Purchased wheat directly from over 1,100 farmers at 15 village-level Wheat Farmer Centers in 2021.
