IITA, NABG partner to curtail impact of Russia/Ukraine war on Nigeria

To reduce the ripple effect of the Russia-Ukraine war on food security in the country, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has partnered with the Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG) to improve the uptake of modern technology to bridge the shortfall in food production.

Nigeria imports 11 per cent of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine. It also imports 65 per cent of its soya beans from Russia just as fertilizer blends, especially potash and phosphate, are brought in from the European country.

IITA head of Station, Prof. Lateef Sani, during a meeting with some private sector operators under the aegis of NABG noted that the current crises – COVID-19, global economic hardship and geopolitical conflicts – have caused a scarcity of commodities.

Stressing the need to uptake new technology to bridge the gap in local production, Sani mentioned that IITA, over the years, has developed modern technology and that it works with NABG is to synergise strategies to scale up technology among the smallholder farmers.

The Director for Partnership Delivery, IITA, Dr. Alfred Dixon, noted that Africa spends $35 billion yearly to import food and that the figure will rise to about $100 in 2025.