Nigeria has received $134 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to support the cultivation of essential crops such as rice, maize, cassava, and soybeans.
The president of the AFDB, Akinwunmi Adesina disclosed this at the weekend, following a visit to the Centre for Dryland Cultivation (CDC) at Bayero University, Kano.
Aimed at addressing the food crisis in the country, Adesina said the bank was committed to supporting Nigeria to cultivate 300,000 hectares of both rice and maize, alongside 150,000 hectares of cassava and 50,000 hectares of soybeans in the 2024 planting season.
In 2023, the United Nations estimated that 25 million people in Nigeria — or about 15% of the total population were food insecure.
Regional instability, climate change and inflation are the major triggers of food insecurity in Nigeria, analysts said.
The situation worsened after the government stopped paying subsidies on fuel in May, sharply increasing costs for food, transportation and energy according to a report by the Voice of America.
Currency devaluation is also impacting commodity prices and contributing to overall inflation.
The country’s inflation stands at 29.9 percent according to the National Bureau of Statistics January 2024 report, while food inflation is 35 percent.
While speaking at the ceremony, Adesina revealed that AfDB would offer grants to the CDA and work in collaboration with it to develop a centre focused on weather pattern predictions and information collection, enabling farmers to plant more effectively.
He added that the organisation would offer grants and support the CDA to develop a centre on weather pattern predictions and information collections for farmers to overcome weather-related challenges.
Adesina said; “This March, the AfDB is supporting Nigeria to cultivate 118,000 hectares of heat-tolerant varieties of wheat and another 150,000 hectares of maize.
“We live in an era of climate change and yet only three percent of African agriculture is under irrigation. We have to make sure we help our farmers with information that is timely and appropriate.
“We have no alternative but to adapt to climate change; adopt better ways of using water, particularly in the cultivation of dry land crops that are more resilient and tolerant,’’ Adesina said.
“We will work with the centre to become one of the centres of excellence in technology.
“We will also support youths to develop their business ideas into reality with our 20,000-dollar grant on Agri Pitch’ and Agri Hacking.”
