All wheat produced locally to be mopped up by millers – FMAN
The Flour Milling Association of Nigeria (FMAN) says it plans to boost wheat production in the country by expanding its procurement capacity across all the wheat-producing states.
This, the association said, would be done through additional aggregation staff and warehouse capacity which would include a commitment to off-take all wheat grains with basic quality standards from Nigerian wheat farmers.
FMAN’s executive member and director, Northern Nigeria Flour Mill (NNFM), Alhaji Sani Umar, who revealed the plan, said to achieve a positive boost in wheat production, the association must increase farmer yields in such a way that wheat will become competitive with rice and other dry season crops.
He further revealed that the association had commenced an intensive out-grower programme with input loans to 800 farmers in Kano, Jigawa and Kebbi, including collaboration with Oxfam and Babban Gona, adding that the association is expected to ramp up significantly next season if it records appreciable repayment rate.
said: “We have established wheat farmer service centres in 15 LGAs with training, threshing and direct off-take for up to 5,000 farmers.
“We have already provided preseason
Alhaji Sani
training to 1,600 farmers in the past one year. We have begun distribution of 150 tons of certified seeds produced by Premier Seed, Rahama and Greenspore which is enough to supply 3,000 farmers for 1,500 hectares next season.
“We have also established a 10-hectare research farm for trials of new seed varieties from Mexico and Sudan and improved agronomic practices, including collaboration with LCRI and IAR.”
He revealed that the association has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Wheat Farmers Association of Nigeria (WFAN) to buy any quantity of wheat available at 40% above the landed cost of imported wheat and that the association had established a Research and Development Grant for the Lake Chad Research Institute, aimed at improving wheat varieties with good yield.
The FMAN executive member said transforming wheat production in Nigeria requires a strong vision backed by clear roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders, and sound data and evidence.
He stressed that the association was looking forward to partnering with organizations across the value chain to improve farmers’ yields through high-quality seeds, expanded extension services and improved access to irrigation services in wheat-producing states.