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FMAN, CBN support 150,000 wheat farmers in 15 states
By Matthew Eloyi
The Flour Milling Association of Nigeria (FMAN) announced on Tuesday that it had helped 150,000 farmers in 15 states increase wheat cultivation.
Dr Aliyu Samaila, FMAN’s National Programme Manager, Wheat Development Project, disclosed this during the Green Wheat Farmer Field Cay at Zindi plantation in Misau Local Government Area of Bauchi State.
The FMAN wheat initiative, according to Samaila, is being executed through the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrower Programme (APB).
Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto, Bauchi, Adamawa, Katsina, Gombe, Plateau, Taraba, Zamfara, Niger, and Yobe were among the states he mentioned.
The program employed proactive farmer support services, according to the Program Manager, to sustainably increase wheat production and yields per hectare, allowing it to compete with rice and other dry season crops in the 2021-22 dry season activities.
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According to Samaila, the program fostered the establishment of 500 demonstration farms throughout 15 states to give farmers with training in Good Agronomic Practices (GAP).
According to him, the program seeks to expand its direct outgrower program by providing input loans to 2,000 wheat growers in Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi, Kaduna, Bauchi, and Gombe states.
He added that the scheme would extend seed production by 5,000 outgrowers for dry and rainy season seed production in partnership with certified seed firms.
He noted that the programme is establishing a 10-hectare research farm in Jigawa to test new seed varieties and agronomic approaches.
The experiment was carried out in partnership with the Lake Chad Research Institute and the International Centre for Agricultural Research and Development (ICARDA), he said.
FMAN also granted grant cash to the National Agricultural Seeds Council to help them develop their capacity to test seed quality, certify seed production, and train farmers to recognize high-quality seed from the rest of the market, according to him.
