According to Sen. Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, the nation would require around 312,000 metric tons of seed in 2024 to meet goals for global stability, food security, and food sufficiency.
Sen. Kyari presented his observations on Tuesday at a High-Level Stakeholders’ Forum on Seed System Development in Abuja, which was hosted by Feed-the-Future Nigeria Integrated Agriculture Activity.
Dr. Haruna Suleman, Director of the National Food and Strategic Reserve, attended the conference on behalf of the minister. He said that the ministry has determined a number of important strategies to deal with Nigeria’s problems with food security.
In four years, he described these techniques as tactics that would be put into practice over short, medium, and long durations with the initial goal of producing 31 million metric tons of grain in 2024.
Kyari emphasized the importance of addressing seed availability, affordability, and adaptability to ensure the success of these food security measures.
He said, “Major crops that are most concerned are rice, maize, wheat, sorghum and cowpea in 2024.”
“We require about 312,000 metric tons of seed which is to enable us to achieve the required metric tons.”
The minister announced that the Federal Government has initiated programs to assist farmers by providing them with high-quality seeds for rice, wheat, maize, cassava, and other essential inputs at subsidized rates.
He emphasized that the development of the Nigerian seed sector requires collaboration and partnership among all major stakeholders, aimed at creating a model of cooperation based on knowledge sharing, skill exchange, expertise, competitive advantage, and mutual benefits.
