Sunday, March 3, 2024 - The African Development Bank (AfDB) says it will provide Nigeria with $134 million in support for the cultivation of essential crops such as rice, maize, cassava, and soybeans, aiming to enhance food production.
The president of the bank, Akinwunmi
Adesina, disclosed this when he visited the Centre for Dryland Agriculture
(CDA) at Bayero University, Kano on Saturday.
The bank, according to him is set to back
Nigeria in cultivating 300,000 hectares of both rice and maize, alongside
150,000 hectares of cassava and 50,000 hectares of soybeans for the planting
season of 2024.
Addressing reporters, during the visit,
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 per cent 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.
Adesina further noted that the 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.
“We will work with the center to become one
of the centers 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,” he said
0 Comments