Federal Government says wheat output reaches 420,000 tonnes

Nigeria’s annual wheat production has increased from about 120,000 metric tonnes to 420,000 tonnes through the Federal Government’s National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-Pocket, an adviser to the agriculture minister has said. Prof. Ademola Adenle, senior special adviser on agriculture and innovation to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, disclosed the figure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Saturday.

Adenle said the scheme, known as NAGS-AP, was introduced under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. It is intended to help close food supply gaps and promote national food sovereignty by supplying subsidised, high-quality inputs directly to smallholder farmers. He said the programme provided access to fertilisers, improved seeds, chemicals and extension services through agro-dealers.

According to him, the support had produced an increase of about 300 per cent in wheat production. “Before, we were producing around 120,000 metric tonnes annually,” Adenle said. He described the reported rise to 420,000 tonnes as a significant improvement linked to the inputs made available under the initiative.

The government adviser said the ministry would soon begin reforms covering different parts of the agricultural sector. He identified the Land Use Act as one of the structural issues affecting productivity and access to farmland. Adenle said the current law, enacted in 1978, gives state governments control over land and has contributed to an inefficient system for accessing it.

He said smallholder farmers typically cultivate between 0.5 and two hectares, limiting their ability to increase production. The proposed reforms, he said, would cover the agricultural value chain from production and processing to distribution and marketing. The government expects the changes to improve productivity and increase farmers’ incomes.