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RUSSIA – UKRAINE WAR: EXPERT CALLS FOR PLANTING OF MORE WHEAT TO AVERT HIKE IN PRICE OF BREAD.
As the war between Russia and Ukraine continues, expert says it may lead to high cost of bread, noodles and pastas in Nigeria if urgent measures are not put in place.
National coordinator, Zero Hunger Nigeria, Dr. Tunde Arosanyin made the prediction while speaking with correspondent Lanre Omotoso.
Dr. Arosanyin said Nigeria is among the countries who consume noodles, pastas and bread which are by-product of wheat in large quantities, hence the need to produce more locally to absorb the shock occasioned by Russia-Ukraine war.
He stressed that with adequate support of irrigation facilities, temperature in the Northern parts of Nigeria is favourable to growth of wheat.
While noting that the war between Russia and Ukraine would prevent export of wheat, the agronomist urged government at various levels to give necessary assistance to Nigerian farmers to produce more wheat for local consumption and export.
Dr. Arosanyin emphasized that with the new technology, some varieties of wheat could be harvested within Seventy days, hence the need to do the needful between now and April.
The National coordinator of Zero Hunger Nigeria opined that if necessary assistance is given to agriculture, it would provide jobs for teeming unemployed youth, provide raw materials to ailing industries as well as income earner for the country.
According to Observatory of Economic Complexity, an aggregator of economic and trade data, Nigeria imported One point Four-Eight Billion Dollar worth of wheat in 2019, making it the world’s 6th largest importer of wheat that year from Russia.
