Buhari unveils national maize pyramids in Kaduna

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday unveiled the 2nd National Maize Pyramids in Kaduna.

In his keynote address at the ceremony, the President said the gesture was part of his administration’s objective for the country to become food and nutritionally secure.

Buhari, who was represented at the forum by the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Mohammed Abubakar, said the unveiling of the pyramid was a confirmation of the success recorded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Anchor borrowers’ programme in the country.

He noted that Nigeria is the largest producer of Maize in Africa and 11th in the world with large volumes of the tonnage emanating from small-holder farmers such as members of the Maize association of Nigeria.

He said: “The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) will also continue to support small-holder farmers as they have been identified as the engine room for the achievement of sufficient food Production in Nigeria.

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“The ministry has strengthened the sector via different programmes, among which are subsidizing the price of farm inputs such as seeds, chemicals, organic fertilizers, storage facilities as low as 10 percent, enhancing the technical knowledge of farmers.

“It should be recalled that before the advent of this administration, Nigeria was not self-sufficient in Maize production and had demand and supply gap of over 5 million metric tons.

“However, with the support and intervention programme of this present administration, Nigeria is able to close this gap and gradually pave the way for the export of Maize to international markets.”

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