The Federal Authorities, on Monday, mentioned the 2024 dry season farming would create 5-10 million jobs throughout the nation.
It disclosed this on the thirtieth common assembly of the Nationwide Council on Water Sources and Sanitation organised by the Federal Ministry of Water Sources and Sanitation in Abuja.
Final week, The PUNCH completely reported that farmers and agro-dealers have been optimistic that the price of meals objects might drop within the coming months following the cultivation of about 323,000 hectares of farmlands throughout the nation with the help of the Federal Authorities.
The report acknowledged that the Nationwide Agricultural Progress Scheme and Agro-Pocket Venture, January 2024, by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Meals Safety, confirmed that 4 main crops: wheat, rice, maize and cassava, have been at the moment being cultivated in massive proportions, beginning with wheat.
It acknowledged that the doc, obtained from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Meals Safety, indicated that the focused hectares being put into cultivation beneath the 2023/2024 dry season farming for the varied crop worth chains have been wheat, 123,000 hectares; rice, 150,000 hectares; maize, 30,000 hectares; and cassava, 20,000 hectares.
Commenting on this 12 months’s dry season farming throughout his deal with on Monday on the Nationwide Council on Water Sources, the Everlasting Secretary of the Ministry of Water Sources and Sanisation, Shehu Aliyu, mentioned some programmes had been launched to make sure the profitable implementation of the 2024 dry season farming and create thousands and thousands of jobs.
He mentioned, “In resolve to align with the state of emergency on meals safety declaration and the Renewed Hope Agenda of the current administration, I want to inform you that the ministry has launched the next three flagship programmes: Water for Expanded Irrigated Agriculture Programme; Partnership for Expanded Irrigation Programme; and River Basin Technique for Poverty Alleviation.
“The implementation of the above-named programmes has kick-started with the launch of the dry season farming masking a complete of 120,000 hectares of land in Jigawa State in November 2023 by the Federal Authorities in collaboration with Jigawa State beneath the Nationwide Wheat Improvement Programme.
“In view of the foregoing, some RBDAs (River Basin Improvement Authorities) have already leveraged on the present intervention to launch dry season farming inside the catchment areas.”
In response to Aliyu, the remaining RBDAs, that are but to take action, are inspired to comply with swimsuit.
“The anticipated consequence from the varied interventions is to create 5 to 10 million jobs for our teeming youths inside the agricultural worth chain,” he acknowledged.
The everlasting secretary additional defined that the most important parts of the declaration of a state of emergency on meals safety with respect to the water and sanitation sector embrace the truth that “all issues pertaining to meals and water availability and affordability as important livelihood objects be included inside the purview of the Nationwide Safety Council”.
He mentioned there was a necessity for an pressing synergy between the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Meals Safety with the Federal Ministry of Water Sources and Sanitation to make sure ample irrigation of farmland and to ensure all 12 months spherical meals manufacturing.
He famous that the declaration additionally required the ministry to “interact our safety structure to guard the farms and the farmers such that farmers can return to the farmlands with out worry of being attacked”.
“The 12 River Basin Improvement Authorities ought to make sure the planting of crops throughout the dry season with irrigation schemes that can assure steady farming manufacturing all 12 months to stem the seasonal shortage,” he added.
Additionally, final week, the Governors of Kwara, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq; Taraba, Agbu Kefas; Ondo, Fortunate Aiyedatiwa; and Kogi, Ahmed Ododo, stormed the Abuja headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Meals Safety to push for elevated crop manufacturing to make sure meals safety in Nigeria.
Abdulrazaq, who doubles because the Chairman of Nigeria Governors Discussion board, had informed the Minister of Agriculture and Meals Safety, Abubakar Kyari, on the assembly that ample focus needs to be given to meals safety.
He, nonetheless, pressured that the nation’s meals remained the most cost effective in West Africa.
Recall that The PUNCH had reported final week that youths and girls of Niger State took to the streets of Minna to protest what they known as the biting hardship, the rising value of meals and harsh dwelling situation within the nation.
However whereas talking on behalf of the governors throughout the assembly on the agric ministry, Abdulrazaq identified that the Anchor Debtors Programme that was beforehand carried out by the Central Financial institution of Nigeria beneath its former boss, Godwin Emefiele, didn’t obtain a lot.
He known as on the agric minister to work onerous to fulfill the meals targets of the federal government, as this was important for the Nigerian lots, including that state governors would work with the ministry.
“We couldn’t obtain a lot with the CBN Anchor Debtors programme, it was very difficult. The difficulty of meals safety is a one-stop-shop and we have to think about what we’re doing. We have to think about what we’re doing for the dry season farming.
“The minister has give you a programme on cassava, rice and maize and we need to interact in that programme and urgently make sure that we enhance on our yield and ship to the Nigerian inhabitants.
“We need to get to a stage the place we export our meals. What we have now now’s that due to the devaluation of our naira, Nigeria’s meals is being exported to West Africa and is the most cost effective within the area as we speak,” the Kwara State governor mentioned.