Governor Namadi of Jigawa State has expressed confidence that Nigeria can attain self-sufficiency in wheat production in no distant future. He spoke, yesterday, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where he fielded questions from newsmen after meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
The governor said his visit was to thank the President for giving Jigawa the opportunity to cultivate 40,000 hectares out of 120,000 hectares of land set aside for wheat farming in the country.
Namadi, who said he briefed the President on the project and other developmental issues in Jigawa and the country at large, stated that Nigeria was capable of exporting wheat with the government’s deliberate plan to attain self-sufficiency.
On what difference Jigawa could make in wheat production for Nigeria, he said: “We are number one in wheat in Nigeria. So, the issue is we have already made a difference because we are number one. And then, today, out of 120,000 hectares for Nigeria, Jigawa alone is given 40,000 hectares and that shows that we are making a difference.
“We have a FADAMA land of over 400,000 hectares. So, that is the only FADAMA land that we can cultivate in both the rainy and dry season.” On the possibility of exporting wheat, Namadi said: “We are going to export wheat over time. We are doing the first one, and then after this one, we are going for rice, and the next one, wheat. That is how the cycle will continue. Definitely, we are going to have food sufficiency and we will definitely have surplus to export.”
On projection about the number of tonnes of wheat to expect from Jigawa, the governor said: “The minimum we are expecting is about four tonnes per hectare, and we are doing 40,000 hectares. In fact, this 40,000 are the ones we have received support from the Federal Government for. We are doing more than that. We can have about 50,000 hectares going on, with people that are doing it on their own.
“So, at least, with the essential services we have provided and with all the support we have provided for land clearing, especially for harrowing that we have supported the farmers, that has given them an opportunity to cultivate more. Somebody, who was doing one hectare now is ready to do more hectares because of the support he has from the Federal Government and state government. Multiply that by 40,000 hectares. I think the future is very bright.”
