N50 billion earmarked to cultivate 250,000 hectares of rice, maize, cassava – Tinubu
By Adegboyega Adeleye
President Bola Tinubu, has revealed his plans to solve the food crisis currently affecting the economy and make food items affordable.
Tinubu made this known while speaking in a national broadcast he delivered on Monday, monitored by Vanguard.
He said his government will earmark N50 billion to cultivate a total of 250,000 hectares of rice, maize, wheat, and cassava.
The President said, “To further ensure that prices of food items remain affordable, we have had a multi-stakeholder engagement with various farmers’ associations and operators within the agricultural value chain.
“Our plan to support cultivation of 500,000 hectares of farmland and all-year-round farming practice remains on course. To be specific, N200 billion out of the N500 billion approved by the National Assembly will be disbursed as follows:
“-Our administration will invest N50 billion each to cultivate 150,000 hectares of rice and maize,
-N50 billion each will also be earmarked to cultivate 100,000 hectares of wheat and cassava.”
President Tinubu also explained the implementation process of the agricultural programme and how it would benefit farmers.
He said, “In the short and immediate terms, we will ensure staple foods are available and affordable. To this end, I have ordered the release of 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains from strategic reserves to households across the 36 states and FCT to moderate prices.
“We are also providing 225,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer, seedlings and other inputs to farmers who are committed to our food security agenda.”
“This expansive agricultural programme will be implemented targeting small-holder farmers and leveraging large-scale private sector players in the agric business with strong performance record, he concluded.”
The President reassured Nigerians that his administration is committed to reforming the economy.
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