Nigeria’ll Stop Wheat Importation Soon, Says Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, said Nigeria would soon end the importation of wheat that is gobbling up $2bn annually.

Buhari said this while launching rain-fed commercial wheat cultivation in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.

Represented by Plateau State Governor, Simon Bako Lalong, he said a key focus of his administration had been the deployment of mechanisms to ensure that agriculture thrived in the country.

According to him, Nigeria is on the path to actualising sustainability in the production of rice, maize, cassava, soybean, groundnut, oil palm and cocoa.

He said, “It is important to stress that Nigeria currently spends over $2bn on the importation of wheat annually, one of the key contributors to the nation’s huge foreign import bill. This is because millers have had to resort to importing wheat to meet the huge demand for wheat by-products.

“Wheat cultivation, similar to rice has the capacity to thrive in Nigeria due to the tropical climatic conditions. Currently, wheat is cultivated in many northern states, particularly in the dry season due to the high heat tolerance of the seed utilised by farmers.”

Buhari expressed excitement at the flag-off of the 2021/2022 dry season wheat farming, saying wheat could also be grown in the wet season in Plateau State and other plateaus in the country, namely, Gembu Plateau in Taraba State, and Obudu Plateau in Cross River State.

He urged the states to take advantage of the opportunity and key into the initiative.