As part of efforts to boost wheat production in the country, the Flour Milling Association of Nigeria (FMAN) has presented 50 units of AMAR multi-crop threshers worth about N70 million to wheat farmers in the country.
The donation is part of the implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) entered into by the Flour Milling Association and the farmers geared at boosting wheat production in Nigeria.
Speaking briefly at presentation ceremony held at the premises of the Northern Nigeria Flour Mill (NNFM) in Kano, John Coumantaros, chairman of the FMAN, said that the presentation was a demonstration of the association’s commitment to continuously support of wheat farmers under the Federal Government’s Agriculture Promotion Policy.
Coumantaros, who was represented at the occasion by Sani Umar, disclosed that the association resolved to donate the farming equipment to farmers to assist in boosting the quality of their wheat produce.
He noted that the provision of the equipment will also assist the farmers improve the market value of wheat commodity in the country and also meeting up with international standards in the production of the crop.
“There is no gainsaying that self-sufficiency in the production of wheat in Nigeria will have an unprecedented impact on the Nigerian economy through the attainment of food security, poverty reduction and of course, save much needed foreign exchange,” he said.
“In 2017, FMAN fulfilled its promise by purchasing over 2,400 metric tons of wheat valued at N469 million and in 2018, even before the start of harvest, we have purchased over 1600 metric tons of wheat valued at N237 million.
“ Also, as part of the implementation of the agreement, FMAN presented the sum of N20 million, as Research and Development Grant to the Lake Chad Research Institute to conduct research into enhanced wheat farming technology and modern agronomy practices aimed at improving wheat varieties with good yield,” he said.
Coumantaros assured farmers that the association would continue to invest to improve the local supply chain while promising that the association is fully committed to ensuring that the nation`s aspiration aimed at achieving self-sufficiency in wheat production is attained.
Receiving the wheat threshers on behalf of the farmers, Salim Saleh Muhammad, national president, Wheat Farmers Association of Nigeria (WFAN), thanked the Milling Association for the donation.
Saleh said the equipment would go a long way in boosting the operation of the farmers, most of whom before now were harvesting their cultivated wheat manually which result in poor market quality of their product.
He noted that the benefiting farmers are drawn from the wheat growing belts of Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Sokoto, and Kebbi.
Adeola Ajakaiye, Kano
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