The federal government is targeting 135 million metric tonnes of staple crop production in 2024 with the newly unveiled Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan (ASAP).
The target was part of the federal government’s comprehensive strategy to address the nation’s pressing issues with agriculture identified as a key sector to bolster economic growth and food security.
The ASAP framework is structured to advance the President Bola Tinubu’s economy-related priorities, focusing on other key areas such as oil, gas, power, revenue, business environment and access to finance.
According to the plan document, the agriculture and food security sub-committee, responsible for implementing the ASAP, has outlined a series of issues to be resolved by 2024.
These include the high cost of inputs, lack of infrastructure, and the need for personnel development in the agricultural sector. The plan will also address supply deficits in major crops consumed by Nigerians, aiming to bolster production by an additional 4.9 million metric tonnes from the private sector.
The key strategies include; updating national agricultural policies, training farmers in climate-smart techniques, developing pastures and grazing lands, and improving the genetic quality of livestock breeds.
With the plan, the federal government also plans to audit the national seed system and enhance the capacity of farmers to handle farming equipment and other inputs.
The expected outcomes of the ASAP include; reducing decades-high food inflation, currently at 40.59%, and increasing the productivity of staple crops grown by individual farmers by 6.0% from 127 million metric tons in 2023 to 135 million metric tons in 2024.
Additionally, the plan aimed to open up 30,000 hectares of new, irrigatable land for dry season farming, enhancing livestock nutrition and feed management, and improving access to mechanisation.
