The Wheat Farmers Association of Nigeria (WFAN) on Thursday hails Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for it moves to place wheat on forex restriction.
Nigeria spends 6.1 billion dollars yearly to import wheat, the President of the association, Mr Salim Muhammad, says in Abuja at a briefing on wheat forex restriction which he described as an impressive policy.
According to him, Nigeria consumes 5 million metric tons of wheat per annum, while a meager 420,000 tons was produced locally.
He said that despite the numerous challenges that plague local production, the policy will enable the government to unlock the unrealized potentials in the wheat sub-sector.
“The forex restriction policy will give relevant stakeholders the confidence to invest in the wheat sub-sector as the returns on their investments protected.
“Production and productivity will automatically increase to meet the local demand.
Mahammad said Farmers would be incentivized to produce more as there would be improved quality seeds, access to the market and better prices for their produce.
“We are engaging 600,000 farmers to an average of 3 tons per hectare, which will translate to 1.8 million this season.”
“ We have the capacity to produce and feed ourselves if a road map towards self-sufficiency is adopted via a special purpose vehicle called “Wheat Round Table” (WRT) where all relevant stakeholders work together,“ he said
He said with the policy, the government would gets closer to achieving its goal of food sufficiency in the country.
He however appealed to the government not to recall the ban as it would provide assurances on return of investment for private investors in the wheat sector.
Muhammad commended the president Buhari for his intervention on agriculture to revive and provide more jobs for Nigerians.
