The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said it is working with stakeholders to address the existing challenges in the wheat value chain the importation of wheat costs the country about $2 billion annually, thereby exerting pressure on the country’s food import bill.
The bank said doing this was part of efforts to shore up the country’s foreign reserves.
CBN Director, Development Finance, Mr. Philip Yila Yusuf, stated this at the Wheat Conference and Stakeholder Engagement, with the theme: “Improving and Sustaining the Wheat Value Chain Development in Nigeria,” in Abuja.
He pointed out that wheat is the second highest contributor to the country’s food import bill with over five million Metric Tons (MT) imported yearly and that only one per cent or 63,000MT of wheat, out of the 5-6 MT consumed annually, was produced locally.
Yusuf, however, restated the bank’s commitment to addressing the existing challenges in the wheat value chain, noting that it has enormous potential for ground-breaking impact in the agricultural sector.
According to him, the apex bank will focus on the commodity value chain for 2021/2022 dry season planting following the sustainable progress made across the rice and maize value chains.
He said the CBN intervention had become critical due to the high demand for wheat in the country as well as the inability to meet that demand.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Abubakar, expressed dismay that the country’s wheat importation had continued to increase in recent years and urged stakeholders to collaborate to reverse the trend by investing more in the value chain.
Also speaking at the occasion, Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, charged stakeholders in the wheat value chain to be transparent in their dealings and to commence preparation for both farming and production of wheat.
Represented by the Kano State Deputy Governor, Dr. Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, Ganduje emphasised that partnership among stakeholders in wheat production value chains remained critical in boosting the country’s quest to be self-sufficient in the production of wheat.
