Abayomi Susan
Nigeria’s inability to fully harness its domestic wheat production potential has been linked to the Federal Government’s failure to implement supportive and consistent agricultural policies. According to Dr. Oluwasina Gbenga Olabanji, the country has possessed the capacity to achieve self-sufficiency in wheat production for nearly four decades but has consistently fallen short of expectations.
Olabanji, a former Executive Director of the Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI), Maiduguri, Borno State, who served from 2012 to 2017, highlighted numerous missed opportunities and the excessive loss of foreign exchange through wheat importation. He further noted that weak policy frameworks have created conditions that encourage the smuggling of locally produced wheat to neighbouring countries. He estimated that Nigeria’s annual expenditure of about $2 billion on wheat imports represents a significant drain on the national economy.
He explained that Nigeria has abundant resources for wheat cultivation, noting that over 1.5 million hectares of land in the northern region are suitable for wheat production. Despite the presence of more than 23 flour mills across the country, local output remains insufficient to meet their demands. He recalled that as of 2013, only about 12 northern states were officially recognised as wheat-producing states, a number that has since increased to 15. He also disclosed that wheat production is now being tested under irrigation in Cross River State, while in Plateau State—where rain-fed wheat farming is common—irrigated wheat cultivation has also been introduced to boost output.
Olabanji expressed deep concern over the impact of insecurity on Nigeria’s wheat production, stressing that the crisis has been most damaging in the North-East and North-West regions. He explained that widespread violence has led to the killing and displacement of many farmers, forcing them to abandon their ancestral homes and farmlands. Using Borno State as an example, he noted that although about 20,000 hectares of land are suitable for wheat cultivation, the area has remained inaccessible for nearly a decade due to persistent insecurity.
He further observed that the security situation has also disrupted wheat processing activities. Several flour milling plants in the region, including the Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN) facility in Maiduguri and Crown Flour Mills in Adamawa State, have shut down operations, a development he attributed directly to the worsening security challenges.
He said the wheat produced in Nigeria is being smuggled to neighbouring countries, like Chad, Niger, Cameroon, even Benin Republic through the porous borders, “as a result of the weakness of our naira against the CFA. Most of the traders in Nigeria prefer exporting our wheat through the backdoor to the neighbouring countries to earn more income on the wheat they produce.” As the result of naira that is so weak.
He highlighted the contradictory policy of low prices for farmers and underused processing capacity, stating, “We have no wheat marketing problem. The flour millers exist, but we still cannot meet even 10% of their demand.” Olabanji was especially critical of the government’s inconsistent wheat policy. He traced it back to President Ibrahim Babangida’s 1987 import ban, which mandated local production to boost self-sufficiency. However, the same government lifted the ban just three years later. This reversal left farmers who had invested in wheat with no market, driving many into liquidation and destroying interest in wheat cultivation.
To achieve sustainable wheat production, he called for the government to actively encourage and motivate seed companies, noting the current “limited private sector participation in this sector.” Speaking as a research scientist, he also criticized the government’s management and financing of agricultural research. He reported that “interference in the disbursement of funds, particularly for research and development, is happening,” and detailed a systemic shortfall: although research institutes submit annual budgets to the national assembly, budget implementation has consistently failed to exceed “50 to 60 per cent.” This chronic underfunding, he argued, hinders institutes from developing the technologies and innovations needed to improve wheat and other crops. He urged national assembly members to scrutinize and improve the funding process to better support agricultural advancement.
