CEOAFRICA gathered that researchers have said Nigeria’s local wheat production will meet its total annual demand of 3.7 million metric tonnes if its 600,000 hectares of land suitable for wheat production is cultivated by 2017.

According to source, the projection is based on the recent release of two improved varieties of wheat named Norman Borlaug and Reyne 28, specifically for Nigeria.

Source gathered that the improved varieties were developed by LCRI in collaboration with International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) in Mexico and the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) in Tunisia.

 According to Oluwasina Olabanji, the executive director, Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI), these varieties can produce five to six tonnes per hectare.

According to him, there are plans on ground to increase wheat production by 150,000 hectares every year from 2013 to 2014 planting season. If this is done, by 2017 Nigeria would be able to cultivate the available 600,000 hectares of land in the north with varieties that can produce 6 tonnes per hectare. By then, the northern part of the country would be producing 3.6 million metric tonnes annually, while the 0.1 million metric tonnes shortfall would be supplied by wheat production from other parts of the country.