Border Closure Boosts Nigeria’s Food Production by over 80 Percent, Says AFAN

Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has revealed that the land border closure by the President Muhammadu Buhari government has yielded fruits in the agriculture sector in the country.

The association said with the border closure, Nigeria’s food production has been ranked up to 80 percent.

This was stated by the National President of AFAN, Farouk Rabi’u Mudi, at a sensitisation programme organised for youths with a theme: ‘Agriculture as a means of employment to our youths’, held in Kano State yesterday.

According to Mudi, the food production level in Nigeria was just 25 percent before the closure of land borders across the country, adding that wheat production, which was only 2 percent then, had now risen to 10 percent.

He noted that the closure of the border had done more good than harm, as a lot of youths had embraced farming and become self-reliant.

According to him, “We support the border closure because without it, our youths would have become unemployed. The policy is the only way to make our people embrace farming.

“With the border closure, we have witnessed improvement in food production from 25 percent to over 80 percent, while wheat production rose to 10 percent. So, this policy is very good, as a lot of Nigerians have gone back to farm.”

Mudi said the programme was organised to enlighten the teeming youths on many of opportunities in the agriculture sector.

He added that the aim of the programmes was to motivate the youths to embrace farming in a bid to improve their socioeconomic status.