The Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, said Federal Government would register 10 million farmers through the electronic wallet agricultural scheme in 2014.
Adesina said this when he paid a courtesy call on Gov. Gabriel Suswam of Benue in Makurdi on Monday.
“Through electronic wallet scheme, the ministry had identified and registered six million genuine farmers in Nigeria so far.
“We started this process in 2012 with just 34 farmers and today we are talking about millions of farmers. In 2014, we intend to reach 10 million farmers.
“So far, these farmers were able to produce additional tonnes of food in the country, thereby reducing the cost of food importation from N2.3 trillion to N950 billion today,’’ he said.
Adesina explained that the aim of government’s agricultural transformation programme was to alleviate poverty and produce food to feed the nation.
According to him, poverty is not an industry, so when you patronise agriculture you are creating jobs and building wealth in Nigeria.
“I am proud of Nigerian farmers, we will assist them with all the equipment they need to succeed.
“So far, we have supplied them with 450,000 tonnes of high quality seeds of rice, and 738,000 high quality stems of cassava in the states,’’ he said.
Adesina said that the Federal Government had concluded plan to lunch electronic wallet scheme for mechanised farming in the country.
In his reponse, Suswam said that his government would support President Goodluck Jonathan’s agricultural transformation agenda in the state.
Suswam said that the major challenge of farmers in the state was that of lack of equipment for effective farming.
In a related development, Adesina also visited MIKAP Nigeria Limited, makers of Miva rice, and he called on all Nigerians to patronise locally produced rice as it was more healthy and economical.
Adesina, who recommended the rice to Nigerians said that even the president ate the rice during the last Christmas celebration.
The Chairman, Board of Director MIKAP Nig. Ltd., Chief Michael Aondoakaa, said that the company produced polished table rice from unprocessed rice grown in Benue.