We are glad at wheat revival in the last two years says association President

The National President, Wheat Farmers Association of Nigeria, Mallam Salim Saleh Mohammed

The National President, Wheat Farmers Association of Nigeria, Mallam Salim Saleh Mohammed has commended the accelerated programme of the Federal Government to revamp the commercial production of wheat for the past two years saying more support would have to be given to farmers for the purpose of encouraging them into the cultivation of the crop towards checkmating billion of naira annually expended for import. Read his excerpts below

 

Can you let us have you on tape introduced sir?

 My name is Mallam Salim Salel Mohammed, National President, Wheat Farmers Association of Nigeria. Wheat as a produce has been well focused based on its importation despite our capacity of being able to produce it.

Then why do we allow the crop to go below production for export?

Actually many factors led to that but the fundamental among all is that wheat is being considered a political crop whether we like it or not, America has interest in wheat and is the largest producer of wheat and exporter of it into Nigeria as there is trade agreement between our country and America.

Does it mean the trade agreement was to jeopardize our own local production?

Well to my understanding, I can say yes because if you could recall in the 1980s, there was what we called wheat accelerated programme launched in Kano and it was a perfect programme then as we produced hundred and thousand tons of wheat at the time. But at the later time, about two or three years later, a lift on the ban of wheat affected the programme, and that is why I say it is a political crop as government is interested in the bilateral trade and link between our country and America.

What is the level of change movement to reinstate back local production?

We are glad now in the last two years, the wheat production has been revived by government through our association. We will always remember the past minister, Dr. Adesina for accepting to bring back wheat production in the country under the supervision of the Lake Chad Research Institute, Maiduguri.

Is there any intervention given to ensure the revitalization of the sector?

The sector has been neglected for too long and definitely we must need an intervention from the government more especially to have a clean quality certified seeds from Research Institute to grow for commercial production. That is why Lake Chad Research Institute is there to provide us with this seeds as the government supported farmers by giving certified seeds free with two bags of fertilizer to a farmer which you know is insignificant as we all know that if a farmer is cropping one hectare of land, he or she will need about eight bags of fertilizer to apply but he is only being subsidies by just two bags. 

The question is how can he cope with the rest six bags in the face of high open market price. So you see there is still a gap to be met by farmers. Government has to realise that farmers are poor and that the revamping this commodity which has been long neglected for years will need more support and intervention to checkmate the level of import taking place in the country. As result of long neglect, many farmers have gone into production of fast money spinning crops like rice, tomato onions, cabbage, vegetables and cassava. There is need to entice back this farmers into production through more motivation.

 So what we are asking the government is to increase the inputs intervention as we are about to go back into massive production with farmers already committed to the course towards reducing billions of naira spent on the crop yearly. There is need for the provision of modern equipment of farming like tractors, planters and harvesters that will remove drudgery in the farming process. I will like to commend the effort of the government intervention of tractors and harvesters given to farmers but they still need to do more in the face of much that is being expended on import of wheat.

I want your comment on Federal Government tractor hiring centre programme?

The tractorization programme has started fine in Kano state as at last year there was an intention of giving tractors to the farmers at a subsidized rate of 40% but unfortunately the project do not hold due to issue here and there. I will like to use this occasion to call on farmers to embrace association in order to easily get loan and government support as their capacity will be enhanced under one umbrella to purchase a tractor and other equipment that can be hired among members. This will also reduce dependence on the government since she cannot do everything.