BREAKING: FG set to distribute free food items to Nigerians

The Federal Government of Nigeria is set to commence the distribution of free food items to vulnerable Nigerians across the country.

This follows the directive given by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the release of 42,000 metric tonnes of assorted food commodities from the strategic food reserve to increase the supply of food. 

The process for the release of the grains is now in its final stages. WESTERN POST reports that the grains in seven locations of the strategic reserve are now being packaged for onward delivery to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). 

According to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, “With the announcement of the impending releases of food commodities from the Strategic Reserve, there is a noticeable reduction in commodity prices across major grains markets in the country, ” Kyari said.

The minister also added that the 42,000 metric tonnes from the strategic reserve will be complemented with the purchase of 60,000 metric tonnes of milled rice from rice millers in the country.

To increase food production, the minister stated that the government is boosting dry-season farming through the National Agricultural Growth Scheme Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP) Project. The First Phase of the Dry Season Farming was launched in November 2023. and focuses on wheat cultivation across 15 wheat-producing states, covering 118,657 hectares and involving 107,429 farmers. 

“There are fantastic reports on the growing of wheat from Jigawa State, which is now targeting harvest from about 50,000 hectares, 10,000 hectares more than initially allotted under the programme. The fields are green now, and harvest will commence in a matter of weeks,” Kyari said.

He added that Phase 2 of the Dry Season Farming will commence soon across all 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory and will cover rice, maize, and cassava.

“The target for rice is 250,000 hectares involving 500,000 farmers with the expected output of 1 million metric tons of paddy rice. We have cultivated 55,000 hectares of maize with 110,000 farmers, thus adding 165,000 metric tons to national maize production. For cassava, we are doing 35,000 hectares with 70,000 farmers to produce 525,000 metric tons of cassava. The NAGS-AP Project offers a 50% subsidy. However, the Federal Government is providing additional support for Phase 2, which brings aggregate subsidy to about 93 % to farmers cultivating the crops. Also, various governors are showing strong support to enhance the subsidy,” the minister concluded.

Additionally, solar-powered water pumps for irrigation, provided by the Federal Government, are also being deployed to aid the upcoming phase of the programme.