Consumption of wheat has increased over the years, with population growth. It has become one of the main diets in most homes and a major raw material for industry. But the challenge is its inadequate supply. This is attributed to lack of government’s support, inability of local farmers to meet demand and millers’ demand for higher imported grade, DANIEL ESSIET reports.
Wheat has become one of the common cereals in Nigeria. It competes with staple foods, such as maize, cassava, millet and plantain. In addition, the increasing number of millers, fast – food restaurants and vendors in major towns has increased the demand for wheat flour.
Sadly, only 20 per cent of the grade used in most of the bakeries and by major millers is obtained locally. The remaining 80 per cent is imported. While wheat consumption is increasing following changing consumer preferences, the sustainability of supply has not been addressed.
Stakeholders say the situation requires that government work to reduce reliance on imports, thereby improving food security and conserving foreign exchange.
Chairman, Wheat Farmers Association, Sokoto State, Mohammed Mahe Marafa, said policy summersault has affected wheat production.
For more than 30 years, Marafa, has been farming wheat in Sokoto. His lush wheat land stretches far and yields in huge volume.
There are many such wheat farms along the Sokoto and Kebbi axis.
According to him, Goronyo, Illela, Gwadabawa, Wamako, Yabo, Wurno, SabonBirni, Kebbe, Shagari and Gada are the local government areas that produce wheat in the state. Years back, he said farmers would produce more than 30,000 metric tonnes of wheat in three months. But the story has since changed because they used to get government’s support. “We produce, the government buys and gives us money but later, the government withdrew in 1985 and the situation has remained so till date,” he lamented.
Last year, however, the Federal Government sent an improved wheat variety to the farmers which is said to have capacity to produce between 15 and 20 bags of wheat in three months.
He said: “They gave us one bag each and two bags of fertilisers. Many farmers were afraid to farm because of the bad experience they had in the past hence did not farm. I had to buy 11 bags from the farmers and at the end of the year I produced 300 bags after the March harvest.
“The most disheartening aspect of the whole thing was that the Federal Government that gave us the variety never showed up to buy the harvest. From the month of March, we kept waiting and waiting and up to November, another planting season without a trace of the government.“
The Federal Government finally came and bought it at the rate of N13, 000 per 25 kg, while Kebbi State government bought at N25, 000 per 25kg from the farmers. But this was rather too late a gesture.
As the season for wheat planting wound down early this year, farmers grew worried.
More farmers had not planted the normal amount of seed, because they had no guarantees that the government would buy their crop as it normally does. Marafa, lamented how tough it has become.
He said if the farmers get the necessary support, each member can produce more than 100 metric tonnes of wheat in Sokoto State in three months.
He added: ”I had a link with flours mills around the country, such as Flour Mills of Nigeria, Bendel Mills, Zamfara Mills and there are rich people who also come to buy on behalf of them. But sadly, these companies have also withdrawn leaving us with no market.”
What were the reasons for their withdrawal? He said they got better ones from abroad.
Does it mean their seedlings are of low quality?
He said: “ No, it is not. Here in Goronyo where I am living we have the second best wheat variety in the whole world. It is only that of Canada that is ahead of ours. Our variety is JaAlkama the red one and other varieties that have high yields.”
According to him, Sokoto farmers produce second best wheat in the world. “All we need is encouragement from the government and wheat users,” he said.
To make amendments, he said his association is visiting some of the flour mills to chart a new course. “We intend to pick representatives to go and meet them and discuss how best we can help ourselves. We gave samples of wheat to a member who has business interest in Lagos to open discussion with a number of flour mills there and if they need it we are ever ready to produce for them. We are waiting for the result,” he added.
For industry watchers, while the local farmers are making efforts, there is a huge gap between what Nigeria needs and what it is producing now. In the analysis of climatic, soil and economic data, it is very difficult to grow wheat. While the country has a rich agricultural land and climate, it is not well enough for inland cultivation of the cereal. This is because the cereal grows best in mild climate. Climates that are too hot or too cold could ruin development of the crop.
The north generates very productive wheat yields, but relies on irrigation. The growing area covers the Sudan/Sahelian zones of Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Jigawa, Kano, Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi and Adamawa states.Commercial wheat production is possible through the use of expensive irrigation. There is a growing concern about untimely rain and hail in the hitting wheat cultivation.
A professor of Soil Science, Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Sumaila Sani Noma, said wheat is no longer a common crop in Sokoto State. For this reason, he said farmers have now shifted to irrigated rice instead.
The reason largely is the lack of market and heavy importation that is driving local production into extinction.
According to him, millers and bakers prefer to buy imported wheat because it is cheaper and this leaves local farmers without a market.
Another concern he expressed was the limited planting period.
His words: “The only period you can grow wheat is usually from November to late January or late February before the hot season starts. Any other planting beyond this will make yield reduction above 50 per cent sometimes. This is because the time frame for which you can grow wheat is very short.”
With appropriate measures and marketing, he said it is possible that people can make profit in wheat farming in Sokoto.
As wheat farmers decry lack of assistance from the government, Noma said: “People have shifted ground to irrigate rice and I think they are getting a lot from that. It will take time to convince people to go back to wheat because of the way they suffered from it.”
In the face of low supply, Executive Director, Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI), Dr. Gbenga Olabanji said there was no need to ban wheat importation.
His words: “ No! wheat cannot be banned; there is no basis for that. There is a treaty signed on liberalisation of trade and there cannot be the banning of wheat. There should be gestation period for wheat production and development. The world is competitive and Nigeria should compete; we have what it takes to compete and Nigeria’s wheat is as good if not better than imported wheat. Nutritionally, there is no way to compare wheat that has been stored for many years to local freshly grown wheat.
“Remember, we are talking about food and nutrition security; food has to contain all the nutrients in their right strength. That is why the people in the village, despite their poverty, look strong and healthy – the same go for the old ones who are still working in farms.
“We are not advocates of wheat banning, but in a few years time, even our millers will realise that our locally grown wheat is better and will key into it.”
Right now, he said the cost of local wheat is higher than imported ones, adding that by the time the farmers are able to produce enough wheat in the country, the price will come down. In the interest of the millers, he said there is plan to give states the preferred variety to produce so there will be sufficient quantities for industries.
The Managing Director, Chad Basin Development Authority, Garba Abba, said wheat is better grown in cold weather in Europe, Canada, United States and Asia.
“For us in the Chad Basin, November is ideal and for water, we draw from Lake Chad. Due to this need for water, the South Chad irrigation project, is located at New Marte to provide water for all the farmers,” he said.
According to him, the country has comparative advantage for producing wheat, adding that Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states form the catchment area.
He said: “ Our major challenge is water. Due to the fact that the basin is a low land area, we cannot irrigate our land by gravity. Water must be pumped and this involves enormous use of energy and its attendant high cost. A 30-megawatt diesel-powered station was put in place to provide the water needed by the project.
Lake Chad is the only source of water and it is lying lower than the farm level hence the need to pump water rather than use gravity of flow.
“We pump water to a height of 16m in two stages and the energy usage is quite heavy. At the time the station was put in place in the 70s, diesel was at 3 kobo per litre, but now in Maiduguri, the pump price is between N150-N160 per litre. The project is not yet connected to the national grid and it is the single most militating factor against the project. The grid stopped at Maiduguri, N124km away from New Marte. This energy issue makes the cost of production of wheat in the area about the highest in the world,“ he explained.
Domestic wheat production is less than 100,000 tonnes per year. Increased production is challenged by the lack of heat-tolerant wheat varieties that are high yielding and development of rain-fed wheat cultivars that are tolerant/resistant to high temperatures, humidity, pests and diseases.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has said the Federal Government has emphatically put a lie to the long-touted myth that Nigeria cannot produce wheat in commercial quantities to enable her exit the choking grip of importation of the commodity.
While launching two new high-yield, early maturing, heat-tolerant and drought-resistant wheat varieties developed by the Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI), in conjunction with the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, with assistance from the Federal Government and grant from the African Development Bank (ADB), Adesina said the two new wheat varieties, named Norman Borlaug and Reyna-28 which have potential yields of five to six metric tons per hectare as against the traditional variety with a yield per hectare of just 0.8 million metric tons per hectare were showcased to members of the public, agribusiness investors, journalists and other stakeholders on the field in Kadawa in Kura Local Government of Kano State.
