President Bola Tinubu has announced that a sum of N200 billion will be released to farmers to cultivate rice, maize, cassava, and wheat.

Tinubu, who disclosed this in a national broadcast on Monday, said the fund will be extracted from the initial N500bn approved by the National Assembly.

According to him, it would be used to cultivate 500,000 hectares of land as an effort by the government to curtail the hardship of Nigerians due to fuel subsidy removal and food insecurity.

Tinubu confirmed that the economy is going through a tough patch, with the cost of fuel, food, and other essential commodities increasing following the subsidy removal, which he said was an inevitable outcome.

His words:

“Our economy is going through a tough patch, and you are being hurt by it. The cost of fuel has gone up. Food and other prices have followed it. Households and businesses struggle. Things seem anxious and uncertain.

“I understand the hardship you face. I wish there were other ways. But there is not. If there were, I would have taken that route as I came here to help, not hurt the people and nation that I love.

“To further ensure that prices of food items remain affordable, we have had a multi-stakeholder engagement with various farmers’ associations and operators within the agricultural value chain.

Tinubu further explained that he had ordered the release of 200,000 metric tonnes of grains from strategic reserves to households across the 36 states and FCT to moderate prices.

He maintained that the federal government would also provide 225,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer, seedlings, and other inputs to farmers committed to Nigeria’s food security agenda.

“Our plan to support the cultivation of 500,000 hectares of farmland and all-year-round farming practice remains on course. To be specific, N200 billion out of the N500 billion approved by the National Assembly will be disbursed as follows:

“Our administration will invest N50 billion each to cultivate 150,000 hectares of rice and maize.

“N50 billion each will also be earmarked to cultivate 100,000 hectares of wheat and cassava.”

According to Tinubu, the agricultural program will be implemented and targeted at small-holder farmers while leveraging large-scale private sector players in the agric business with a strong performance record.