In order to meet high demand for wheat, amidst poor production capacity, the Central Bank of Nigeria is to disburse N41 billion through Heritage Bank Plc to farmers across different states for the expansion of wheat production.
A statement from the Heritage Bank stated that the fund would consummate the expansion of Wheat Seed Multiplication Project, as part of the CBN’s Brown Revolution Initiative, which is an intervention programme to flag off and support the commencement of dry season wheat farming across the country.
The statement quoted the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, as saying that the move was part of the apex bank’s intervention to address the challenges in wheat value chain, thereby increasing the domestic production of wheat and closing the wide supply gap inherited in Nigeria’s agricultural space.
He said following the successes in the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, the apex bank decided to extend the gains recorded in rice and maize value chains to wheat production.
The statement explained that the programme would benefit over 150,000 farmers, and would be implemented in 15 states on about 180,000 hectares of land.
”Wheat is the third most widely consumed grain in Nigeria after maize and rice. It is estimated that the country only produces about one per cent (63,000 metric tons) of the 5-6 million metric tons of the commodity consumed annually in Nigeria.
“This enormous demand-supply gap is bridged with over $2bn spent annually on wheat importation. This has made wheat the second highest contributor to the country’s food import bill”, it stated.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Heritage Bank, Ifie Sekibo, said the Brown Revolution Initiative would help reduce the nation’s food import bill by increasing wheat production.
According to him, it will create market linkages between smallholder farmers and anchors/processors, as well as create an ecosystem that drives value chain financing, improve access to credit by the smallholder farmers by developing credit history through the scheme.