Food inflation: FG targets 750,000 hectares of land for maize and rice cultivation across Nigeria

The Federal Government has announced plans to cultivate 750,000 hectares of land for maize, wheat, rice and cassava cultivation through the National Agricultural Growth Scheme Agro-pocket project to tackle the country’s food inflation.

The Minister of Agriculture, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, made this revelation during the 2024 Sahel Food Systems Change Makers Conference, held in Abuja on Tuesday.

The theme of the event is “Innovative Governance Models: A Pathway for Food and Nutrition Security in Nigeria.”

The initiative aims to increase productivity, improve crop intensity and expand production areas.

According to Abdullahi, these efforts will increase the availability of locally produced food, thereby improving both household and national food security, while also increasing resilience to external shocks and supporting livelihoods for economic stability.

Abdullahi emphasized the government’s focus on year-round agriculture, taking advantage of both the rainy and dry seasons to maximize food production.

“This is because one of the challenges is the high cost of food, so if there is abundant food, this will definitely reduce food prices,” he said.

Agricultural irrigation in the dry season

Moreover, he said the government is moving from single-season agriculture to year-round agriculture by embracing irrigation during the dry season.

“We try to look inward, at our enormous potential. Nigerians don’t want to look at the potential, they want to eat food, but the potential is there in terms of areas where we can do irrigation.” he explained.

The minister also highlighted the presence of large water resources such as the Niger and Benue Rivers, and emphasized the need to utilize river basins for agricultural production.

“We have the national agricultural growth program, an agro-pocket project, where we target 750,000 hectares of land for maize, wheat, rice and cassava where possible.

“Overall, we are changing the narrative, and if we are done with dry season farming, the rainy season should keep coming,” he said.

Abdullahi mentioned the possibility of three-season farming in certain situations, which depends on access to improved seed varieties.

“So our research institutes are focusing on climate-smart technologies by ensuring that we have varieties of our crops that will be short-lived, drought tolerant and disease resistant.” he added.

He further noted that the theme of the event is in line with the need for transformation in agricultural ecosystems, emphasizing the importance of adopting modern methods.

“If you bring the structure of change into any system, that is significant, adding that we cannot continue our farming methods in the old way.” said the minister.

What you need to know

Nigeria is currently facing a food security crisis, with food inflation soaring 40.5% as households across the country struggle to meet their basic needs.

Prices of basic foodstuffs, especially grains, have risen by more than 100% in the past year, putting further pressure on household budgets and exacerbating problems in an already fragile economy.
According to projections, about 31 million Nigerians will face severe food shortages. which shows that there is an urgent need for strategic interventions.
In response, the Federal Government recently announced plans to provide N50,000 to 100,000 households in all 36 states for three months and allocate N155 billion for food items to be distributed nationwide.
President Bola Tinubu announced these measures at the recent National Economic Council (NEC) meeting where he also outlined construction, housing and other support programs aimed at easing economic pressure.

The President further urged State Governors to prioritize efforts to address food security needs in their respective States.