President Bola Tinubu’s administration has significantly scaled up agricultural production in Nigeria, particularly in wheat farming, with output increasing more than tenfold, according to Dr. Uzoma Nwagwu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement.
Speaking on a monitored television programme on Wednesday in Abuja, Dr. Uzoma — an award-winning soil scientist with international experience spanning Nigeria, Belgium, the UK, Japan, and Canada — highlighted the strides made in the agricultural sector since President Tinubu assumed office in 2023.
“Through the African Food Security Emergency Support programme, over 500,000 farmers benefited from subsidized fertilizer and seed inputs, leading to a significant increase in productivity,” Uzoma said.
He further noted the importance of the Irrigate Nigeria project, which he said is set to provide irrigation to 5 million hectares of land nationwide. “This will reduce our dependence on rainfall and help mitigate the impact of climate change,” he explained.
According to Uzoma, the administration is also working towards establishing structured, government-led but private-sector-driven agribusiness organisations in each of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas. “These will benefit from low-interest facilities that will further boost actual productivity,” he said.
Speaking on the broader impacts of the Green Imperative Project, which has been relaunched and expanded under the Tinubu administration, Uzoma stated: “We believe that within the first ten years, this project will lead to a quantum leap in agricultural productivity, food security, and increased exports that will help diversify our economy.”
Citing early indicators of success, he pointed to the falling prices of key agricultural products such as rice, maize, and ginger. “These improvements are already being felt, and in the coming months, the benefits will further trickle down to kitchen tables,” he assured.
On wheat production, Uzoma said, “We increased the wheat production in this country by more than 10-folds and to the extent that we are now lobbying Flour Mills of Nigeria to buy more from our farmers.”
He concluded by reiterating the administration’s commitment to empowering farmers through the provision of modern equipment and subsidized farm inputs, calling it a critical strategy for achieving sustainable food security in Nigeria.
