IN THE ABUNDANCE OF SPRING WATERS , FOOLS ARE VERY THIRSTY…

HARNESSING THE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE 24/7 MAIZE, WHEAT AND LEGUMES PRODUCTION WINDOW.

Nigeria produces 60,000 tons of wheat annually , but Tolaram Group alone consumes over 500,000 tons per annum to produce 8m packs of indomie everyday ?

Total Local consumption of wheat in Nigeria is put at about 4.5m tons per annum. If you ask the current minister of Agriculture now, he will tell you, like his predecessor, that local production is currently at 120,000 tons per annum . However , the millers who have the current figures put local wheat production at 60,000 tons per annum .

Niger State alone has a land mass of 7,430,000 hectares . Five percent
of this land mass is 371,500 hectares.

A hectare of land can conservatively yield 4 to 8 tons of Maize ?. The same Hectare can yield conservatively 2tons of Wheat per Hectare . Interestingly, you can intercrop maize and wheat with rich yielding, melon, cucumbers, water melon and other legumes.

If Niger state government or any other fore sighted state government for that matter, decide today to dedicate 5% of their land mass to Corn or Wheat plantation (intercropped with high yielding legumes ) under transparent domestic and global Private Sector partnerships frameworks , backed by solid mechanized , technical , infrastructure, legislative , and policy support , they can hit a gold mine utilizing the vast arable land mass and human capital in the Nigeria to reap a windfall from these lines of cash and foods crops alone .

371,500 hectares of land (5% of Niger state land mass ) can yield conservatively over 37,000 tons of wheat per annum . This is just about 7% of what The Tolaram Group , makers of Indomine range of food product import annually into Nigeria (500,000tons of wheat annually ). They produce 8m packs of indomie every day .

As at Today at the Global Commodity Market, the price of a ton of wheat hovers between 204 to 238 Euros per metric tons . Local Price per ton for flour Millers is at N140,000 per ton .

Please use your calculator to compute how much the Niger state economy or any foresighted state government can generate across the whole agro value chains via focused projects facilitation in a year producing and processing these commodities with solid off-take agreement with the Tolaram Groups and many other manufacturers within and across the world .

A Hectare of land produces conservatively about 4 to 8 tons of rich yielding ?Maize. Using the conservative base estimate of 4 tons per hectare, it means Niger state on an 371,500 hectares of land can produce up to 1,486,000 tons of Maize per annum . 1 metric ton is 1000kg . 100kg of corn in the local market today is N14,000 ( go and confirm this from millers and animal feed producers ) .

Biko use your calculator and tell me the productivity values of just doing Maize ? on 5% of Niger state land mass .

This little transparent , pragmatic, scientifically designed, structured and executed program (wholly private sector led), with an estimated capital outlay of N148, 600,000,000 will create 371,000 direct farm gate jobs, N208,040,000,000.00 gross revenue annually from the maize value chain, and over N252billion from the legume value chain .

The focuses cooperative architecture upon which these schemes will be planked amongst the participants, will help provide the needed counter-guarantee check-valves amongst them and checkmate against fraud of diversion of funds or commodities at harvest.

We had earlier done the same report on Sesame seed and Sesame oil refineries plant, Date Palm Orchads and processing plants, dairy farms and processing, palm farm gates and palm processing, cashew and cashew processing, cocoa and cocoa processing value chains, piggery and pork processing, fishery and fish processing value chains etc.

For instance just 5000 Hectares of cultivated date orchard with the processing plants can yield up to $142,500,000 to $202,000,000 per annum upon full maturity and production. This amount is far more than what most states in Nigeria receive from JAAC and FAAC allocations annually, less recurrent expenditure deductions. Just from 5000 hectares alone ooooo.

This Nigeria is simply a gold mine . We only need to chase away most of these lazy/selfish men and women with mostly sawdust in their skulls masquerading as political leaders and replace them with solid creative thinkers.

Rather than support, embrace and domesticate AMOTEKUN, which is a solid domestic/home grown security arrangements that can help the local farmers to build and create agro prosperity in Nigeria , some misguided domestic terrorists, are out to kill it just to enable the current atmosphere of hunger, misery, banditory and death to continue in the land . God forbid .

God help us

Dr Nnaemeka Onyeka OBIARAERI, FICA, MIRA