Abuja: The Federal Government has finalized plans for dry season rice farming as part of its second phase of support for farmers, aimed at enhancing harvests and ensuring food security for Nigerians. This was announced by Sen. Abubakar Kyari, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, during a briefing with State House correspondents.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the Federal Government is set to assist approximately 400,000 farmers in cultivating 200,000 hectares across the nation. Kyari explained that the dry season rice cultivation will occur in irrigated areas throughout the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The initiative is scheduled to commence at the end of this month and into early February in the southern regions, where specific clusters for irrigation farming have been identified. This includes parts of the north-central zone, where the rainy season starts earlier.
Kyari further elaborated that the northern regions, spanning from the middle part of north-central to the upper areas of the north-east and north-west, will begin dry season farming about a month later, in February. In addition to rice cultivation efforts, the minister highlighted another intervention aimed at boosting food security: the provision of tractors to farmers.
He stated that the ministry has begun receiving tractors procured since October 2024, including 2,000 units from Belarus, which are arriving in Nigeria. These tractors will be delivered to Abuja for assembly, where some will be put together as completely knocked down (CKD) units. Once the delivery and assembly are complete, the tractors are slated for distribution to farmers across the country.
Kyari also mentioned that the Federal Government recently signed an agreement to procure 2,000 John Deere tractors at a cost of $70 million through the Nigeria Agricultural Development Fund. Although no payments have been made yet for the John Deere tractors, an upfront payment of 30 percent has been made for the Belarusian tractors.