Farmers Can Get Four Metric Tons Per Hectare With New Wheat Varieties -WFAN President

The Wheat Farmers Association of Nigeria (WFAN) has attested that with the new wheat varieties, farmers in the wheat value chain can get up to four metric tons of wheat from one-hectare farmland if properly managed.

Speaking with AgroNigeria, after the association harvested one-hectare farmland of the new wheat varieties, WFAN National President, Salim Saleh Mohammed, said the new wheat varieties were doing great, noting that Nigeria was yet to attain its best in wheat production.

“For now we are yet to attain that stage because the harvest just commenced, however, it was such an impressive harvest coming from just one hectare, as there are no machinery such as combine harvester to aid easy and faster harvest,” Mohammed said.

He noted that from all indications, wheat farmers were convinced that they could be able to pay back the loans they took from the Central Bank of Nigeria through the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) and even have access to more, adding that if a farmer can deliver properly at a small stage, then he would do better at a higher stage.

However, Mohammed stressed the need for the government to massively increase the funds given to farmers or double the percentage to support mechanisation. He maintained that mechanised farming would increase productivity, which would lead to the sustainability of the programme and mitigate post-harvest losses.

“As much as the government would be funding the programme, we have all the potential required to grow wheat in Nigeria. We have the land and human resources, but we need innovative technologies, and with this, the sky would be our stepping stone,” he added.

Meanwhile, he called on President Muhammad Buhari to create a progressive development plan for wheat sustainability within a time frame, adding that the country needs a sound policy that would back the agricultural sector and encourage the off-take of produce at the end of harvest.

Agro Nigeria