The Federal Government, in collaboration with 16 states, has launched the 2025/2026 dry season farming to boost the country’s food security, employment, and agricultural economy.

The massive wheat production programme is being implemented under the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-Pocket Project (NAGS&AP) to empower small-holder farmers by diversifying the production of their crops in Nigeria.

Speaking at the flagging-off event in Maiduguri, Borno State, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, highlighted the economic impacts of the NAGS&AP project, which he described as “One of the FG’s most effective tools in supporting the smallholder farmers engaged in the production of over 80% of the country’s total food requirements.”

According to the minister, the crop production project provides highly subsidised farm inputs, including fertilisers, along with thousands of agricultural field-level extension workers across the country.

Kyari noted that the coordinated implementation of the project will also drive measurable gains in the small-holder farmers’ productivity and income generation in tackling food insecurity and poverty.

He added that the Maiduguri flag-off followed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s July 2023 declaration of an emergency on Food and Nutrition Security, a strategic move that mandated all government agencies to accelerate efforts to stabilise the nation’s food system in responding to the rising market food prices, climate change, and the global food supply disruptions.

According to him, the 2025/2026 wheat production component is to cover 16 states that have comparative advantages in the production of wheat, including the recent production expansion in Cross River State.

He, therefore, commended the efforts of the Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, for creating an enabling environment necessary to implement the NAGS&AP project in wheat-producing Local Government Areas (LGAs), particularly the Lake Chad Basin.

Following the minister’s address, Zulum officially unveiled the distribution of various farm inputs, including high-yielding wheat seeds, blended fertilisers and tractors, to farmers in Jere Local Council.

The governor also acknowledged the federal government’s intervention, stating that the programme has provided the foundation for the state government to achieve a remarkable milestone in the agricultural sector.

“Our farm inputs support programmes have reached tens of thousands of smallholder farmers and resettled displaced persons by providing them with improved seeds, agrochemicals, and agronomic guidance,” he said.

He noted that this has reinforced the state government’s commitment to the sustainability of the federal government’s programme by leveraging it to reduce the country’s heavy reliance on food imports.