By Nurudeen Alimi
The Federal Government has expressed worry over the shortfall of 4.4 million metric tons in the production of millet and the country’s inability to produce enough to meet the needs of its citizens.
The government expressed the concern through the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar, during the Millet Food Festival 2023, organised by the High Commission of India in Abuja, in collaboration with Niger State as a part of Nigeria Millet Initiative.
According to the minister, presently, millet production in Nigeria has not met the national demand and it is attributed to low productivity of the crop, noting that the event was to reawaken farmers’ consciousness in the millet industry.
“This event is also to re-awaken the conscience of Nigerian millet farmers to adopt good agronomic practices (GAP) to improve farmers’ livelihoods and Nigeria’s GDP. “Our national demand for millet as at 2022 was 6.4 million metric tons while our national production is 2.0 million metric tons.
“This low productivity could be caused by low potential of the crop varieties, application of poor agronomic practices, depleted soil, climate change or aggregation of these factors.”
He further stated that the ministry is in dire need to improve the productivity of the crop so as to enhance farmers’ income, attract more youth to millet cultivation, meet our food and industrial demand and enhance the growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He insisted that the concept of the Nigeria Millet Initiative was a good one since farmers would be supported to produce millet with local content as organic fertilisers thereby reducing the cost of production and increasing productivity.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Shri Balasubramanian disclosed India’s readiness to collaborate with Nigeria to improve millets’ production and ensure that more meals from the crops get on the table of many Nigerians.
The High Commissioner said the United Nations General Assembly had declared 2023 the International Year of Millets, which was proposed by India and supported by over 70 nations.
He added that the International Year of Millets was to provide a unique opportunity to increase global production, ensure efficient processing and consumption, promote a better utilisation of crop rotations, and encourage better connectivity throughout food systems to promote millets as a key component of the food basket.
“Millets are among the first plants to be domesticated and are considered “nutri-cereals” due to their high nutritional content. They have served as a traditional staple for hundreds of millions of people in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia for 7000 years, and are now cultivated across the world”, he said.
Meanwhile, the Etsu Nupe and Chairman of the Nigeria Millet Initiative, Dr. Yahaya Abubaker; Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, Secretary to the Government of Niger State; Abubakar Abdullahi, Director Federal Department of Agriculture, Nigeria, several ambassadors; and traditional rulers, among other dignitaries, participated in the event. Also at the event, various restaurants put up their stalls and served food (prepared with millets) to the participants to promote the millets. Several exhibitions from IITA, ICRISAT, Niger State, Farmers Association of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council also participated in the event.
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