The Federal Government has invested over N200bn in the agricultural sector as part of its efforts to boost food production and ensure national food security.

The Minister of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, in a statement released on Sunday, said, ” The ministry has invested over N200bn in terms of intervention and has also given out free of charge N2,150,000 fertilisers to support farmers across the country.”

Kyari also revealed that the ministry distributed fertilisers worth over N2.15m free of charge to farmers nationwide to support cultivation and improve yields. The minister continued by commending the Government of The Gambia for seeking a partnership with Nigeria aimed at improving food production and economic growth.

He also added that the journey towards food sufficiency in Nigeria has not been easy, but noted significant progress made with the support of development partners such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Bank.

“It has been a tough journey for the present government to arrive at being food sufficient and has opted for the game in terms of production through development partners like FAO, World Bank, among others to increase production,” Kyari stated.

Reflecting on the administration’s commitment to agriculture, Kyari noted that, “When President Bola Tinubu came into power in 2023, and was committed to making sure that Nigeria is food secured, which propelled him to give a marching order that ‘we must achieve food security and food sovereignty.”

He explained that the renaming of the ministry from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security was a strategic response to food insecurity driven by climate change, COVID-19, and natural disasters such as flooding.

Highlighting Nigeria’s push towards mechanised agriculture, Kyari stressed the importance of attracting youth into the sector. “We have a huge capacity within our youths, but because of the laborious nature involved, it scares away our youths,” he said, referring to the laborious nature of traditional farming methods.

The minister also celebrated advancements in rice and wheat cultivation, pointing to successful research outcomes.

“Rice is one of those areas you have mentioned, but I believe that we have also achieved a lot of milestones in research, crops, like Wheat, for instance, is something that we are working on and has consistently shown an improvement and success from when we started in 2023.

“In 2023 farmers were also assisted with imported wheat seeds and as at last year, no seed was imported, because we have developed our own seeds internally and were able to cultivate almost 500 metric tons of wheat within Nigeria to boost productivity through our various research institutes and Agencies under the Ministry,” Kyari added.

While acknowledging the continued challenges in the rice sector, particularly with affordability and availability, Kyari identified the outgrower scheme as a major tool for empowering small-scale farmers.

“For us, the scheme covers the challenges because we believe that small-scale farmers should also have access to long-term financing. The outgrower scheme is a short-term scheme between planting and harvesting (which is within 4-5 months), so there is no long-term investment,” the minister said.

During the courtesy visit of the Gambian delegation led by the Gambian Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Security, Dembal Sabally stated that his delegation had visited Kebbi State to observe Nigeria’s rice cultivation and irrigation methods, and plans to replicate the model in The Gambia.

“The few things that stood out to them were the outgrower scheme success in Nigeria, which is one thing his team has picked up, from post-harvest management, mechanisation, seeds, packaging, and the trade of rice,” Sabally said.

Sabally expressed appreciation for the warm reception and acknowledged Nigeria’s agricultural progress. “Nigeria has overcome rice insufficiency, of which Gambia is still struggling to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production,” he said, noting that Gambia currently imports over 80 per cent of its rice, which severely impacts the country’s economy.

He also called for support in the form of a Rice Ambassador to help replicate the Nigerian experience in The Gambia to boost rice self-sufficiency.