CBN, Heritage Bank to cut wheat import by 60%

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Heritage Bank Plc have partnered to boost production and reduce wheat import by 60 per cent.

The Wheat Seed Multiplication Project held in Jos, was part of the CBN’s Brown Revolution Initiative meant to address the challenges in wheat value chain and improve local production.

Speaking at the kick-off of the Brown Revolution Initiative, CBN Deputy Governor, Edward Adamu stated that the short-term benefit is the addition of about 2, 000 metric tonnes (MT) of high-yield seed variety to the national wheat seed stock of 20, 000MT.

According to him, this effort has the potential to add about 750, 000MT of wheat yearly through rain-fed cultivation.

He noted that estimated that only one per cent or 63,000MT of wheat, out of the five to six million metric tons of wheat consumed yearly was produced locally, whilst with the Brown Revolution and in partnership with Heritage Bank and others, CBN seeks to eliminate dependence on imported wheat by 60 per cent.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Heritage Bank, Ifie Sekibo, represented by the Head Agricbusiness and Export, Ugonwa Ikegwuonu, said: “We set out to cultivate a total of 1,000 hectares of farm land but at the end of the day because of time constraints & other challenges, we have been able to cultivate 357 hectares. The crops according to the project manager are doing very well & in few weeks they will be ripe for harvest, in fact part of the farm is already ripe for harvest. So, we set out with this partnership with two anchors which we call service providers.’’

Plateau State State Governor, Simon Lalong affirmed that Nigeria was on the path of agricultural food sufficiency with the ‘Brown Revolution’ the rain-fed wheat would help curtail the $2 billion spent on importation of wheat.

He further noted that the target of his administration was to attain zero-importation of wheat.

President, Wheat Farmers Association of Nigeria, Salim Muhammad stated that they have an understanding with Heritage Bank for its proactive approach to the objective of the rain-fed wheat production in agriculture value chain.

He assured, “I assure you that at the end of this programme, by next season, it will be a different scenario/story because we are now doing on a very small scale but I’m sure by next season, the real revolution will start off and it will be seen all over Nigeria. Because, currently we are producing wheat in 16 wheat producing states. By the coming of this wheat dry season, seeds available and practicable; we are going to expand our scope to cover other areas that can produce wheat during the dry season. I’m not saying that we are going to cover the whole 36 states of the Country, but I assure you, by next season we will be thinking of about 20 to 27 states that we have.”