Jigawa Wheat Farmers Enjoy 75% Subsidy, Says Gov. Namadi

Jigawa State Governor Umar Namadi says local wheat farmers are benefiting from a substantial subsidy programme, with the state government covering 75 per cent of costs associated with agricultural inputs.

This initiative according to the governor aims to enhance wheat production and support food self-sufficiency in Nigeria.

At the West and Central Africa Development Network Wheat second regional summit in Abuja, Umar Namadi said his administration is doing everything possible to enhance the cultivation of wheat in the state to support food self-sufficiency.

The Jigawa Governor, who emphasized on the state’s commitment to expand wheat cultivation, said that plans were underway to scale up production to 100,000 hectares of farmland.

He said that the state government also planned to double its engagement with the Flour Milling Association to increase the land dedicated to wheat cultivation.

In his remarks, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Cross Rivers State, Mr Johnson Ebokpo, said the state government had started the engagement using a hundred thousand hectares for the proof of concept and another five thousand hectares for the first phase of commercialization.

Ebokpo added that within a year the state would be contributing significantly to the national wheat output.

Wheat is a cereal grain and one of the most common staple foods in Nigeria and other countries of the world.

Wheat is usually grown in areas with a temperate climatic condition.