NIGERIA – The Ukrainian government has donated 25,000 tons of wheat grain to Nigeria, aimed at alleviating the emergency food crisis in the country.
The donation is part of Ukraine’s humanitarian “Grain from Ukraine” initiative launched by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, gifted through the World Food Programme (WFP).
It seeks to support 1.3 million vulnerable Nigerians grappling with the aftermath of conflicts in the North East and North West regions.
The official handover ceremony took place in Abuja, with David Stevenson, the WFP’s country director, expressing gratitude for the timely assistance.
“This wheat from Ukraine could not have come at a better time,” stated Stevenson.
According to him, the vulnerable populations have been grappling with soaring food prices, hindering their access to essential staples over the past three months.
The shipment was made possible through the collaborative effort from the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Luxembourg, Norway, the Republic of Korea and Sweden, which has helped cover the costs of transporting the wheat from Ukraine to Nigeria and its distribution to the families who so urgently need it.
Wheat is the third most consumed grain in Nigeria, driven by its rapidly growing population of 213.4 million.
The Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture projected a demand for 6.06 million tons of wheat in 2022-23, with Nigeria expected to produce 160,000 tons while importing 6.5 million tons.
However, the country is in the process of devising applicable strategies to boost local wheat production.
Earlier this year, the Nigerian government announced plans to embark on a strategic initiative aimed at attaining self-reliance in wheat, through the National Wheat Development Programme and the Jigawa state’s wheat programme.
The ambitious plan was unveiled by Umar Namadi, the Governor of Jigawa State after closed-door talks with President Bola Tinubu in Abuja.
Namadi asserted that Nigeria has the potential to transform into a wheat-exporting nation through the strategic expansion of domestic farming capabilities.
He revealed that his state wants to set the ball rolling by cultivating enough wheat to yield a record 2 million tonnes annually.
He revealed that Tinubu fully endorses Jigawa’s plan and has pledged federal support and resources to facilitate the state realising its wheat targets.
The federal government is already committed to wheat farming having launched a 100,000-hectare dry-season wheat farming scheme in 2021. About 40,000 hectares of this project are located in the Jigawa State.
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