Nigeria's government is still pursuing the line that its rice self-sufficiency programme is a success, despite startling evidence to the contrary.

In Nigeria, as in many countries in West Africa, rice is a staple. When a crisis a decade ago caused an acute rice shortage imports rose dramatically, and while an estimated 71% of Nigerians work in agriculture the country has never managed to achieve self-sufficiency. Since 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari’s government has made rice self-sufficiency a flagship policy with a combination of farmer incentives and an import ban.

Nura Baure, chairperson of the Rice Farmers Association in Daura, Buhari’s hometown, is a staunch defender of the rice revolution. He told journalists last week that about 1,108 rice farmers in the locality were set to receive loans for 2019 under the first phase of the much-touted Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP). The second phase is scheduled to begin in June, with 5,800 beneficiaries.

The Central Bank of Nigeria set up the ABP in 2015 to empower farmers in cooperative societies to get loans at single-digit interest rates – far lower than those offered by conventional lenders. Buhari symbolically launched the initiative in November that year in Kebbi State – one of the states with the highest rice production capacity nationwide.

Government and tinted spectacles

To outward appearances the programme has been a true success – at least in the eyes of the government.

● Last year, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the central bank, announced that more than 2.5m jobshave been created since the advent of the scheme, with more than 862,000 farmers participating.

● In 2018, agriculture minister Audu Ogbeh also sensationally claimed that Nigeria’s rice revolution had led to a drastic fall in imports from Thailand, leading the Thai ambassador to come to his office bemoaning the closure of seven rice mills. The diplomat denied this, accusing Ogbeh of distorting the facts.

● Ogbeh’s colleague, the also-bespectacled Lai Mohammed, also claimed rice imports were declining. He refuted a US department of agriculture report that claimed Nigeria had imported 3m tonnes of rice in 2018, 400,000tn more than the previous year. “I want to say categorically, again – without fear of contradiction – that the Anchor Borrowers’ rice programme is working. Nigeria has been able to reduce by 90% the $1.65bn it was paying on rice importation. The number of integrated rice-processing mills increased from 13 to 25,” the information minister said in a statement.

Giant with feet of clay

According to Bloomberg, Nigeria was the world’s third-largest importer of rice in 2018.

On 21 May, Nigeria’s Premium Times released the results of a comprehensive investigation that showed the ABP had, in fact, spectacularly failed. An overwhelming majority of farmers had failed to pay back their loans. Another fraction never received the money.

● Apart from complaints about expired herbicide and bad seeds, it turned out that many of the farmers had been selected on the basis of political patronage and the monies were distributed in cash, rather than in bank accounts as stipulated to ensure the contribution of 5% as equity.

● According to a representative of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, “farmers collected loans and they thought it was national cake being distributed to them. There were some local government chairmen in the north that told them that they shouldn’t bother themselves to pay the money because, when they visited their farms, there wasn’t anything to show for the money they got.”

● Things got so bad that last June, the Bank of Agriculture announced it was joining forces with the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission to chase loan defaulters. As at the time of writing, there has been no major headway on this.

Still, the government is persisting with the implementation of the programme. This year’s new loans are proof of its relentlessness. In 2018, it also approved a N60bn ($222m) subsidy programme to drive down the price of rice in the market.

Bottom line:

Somehow, rice smuggling still thrives despite the government ban, and foreign rice brands, which are preferred by many Nigerians, remain more affordable than the local ones. It might pay for Abuja to be more introspective and to probe why it is cheaper to buy a commodity imported and smuggled into the country by any means possible than its homegrown version.

Source: https://www.theafricareport.com/13228/nigerias-obsession-with-rice-and-the-bottomless-subsidy-pit/

On 21 May, Nigeria’s Premium Times released the results of a comprehensive investigation that showed the ABP had, in fact, spectacularly failed. An overwhelming majority of farmers had failed to pay back their loans. Another fraction never received the money.

● Apart from complaints about expired herbicide and bad seeds, it turned out that many of the farmers had been selected on the basis of political patronage and the monies were distributed in cash, rather than in bank accounts as stipulated to ensure the contribution of 5% as equity.

● According to a representative of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, “farmers collected loans and they thought it was national cake being distributed to them. There were some local government chairmen in the north that told them that they shouldn’t bother themselves to pay the money because, when they visited their farms, there wasn’t anything to show for the money they got.”

It is terrible what is going on with the failures in Aso Rock who use aggressive propaganda and sharing of crumbs to poverty-stricken folks to cover up for their looting and failure.
Terrible!


www.nairaland.com/attachments/4180477_1392483210143001453357818500537568220443822n_jpeg744fcdbcdbc4f5b147d46800faffe62b

The Bank of Agriculture announced it was joining forces with the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission to chase loan defaulters. As at the time of writing, there has been no major headway on this.

This would be an interesting FOI request. What're the loan requirements. I i want to know the percentage of defaulters, what states and why.

In 2018, it also approved a N60bn ($222m) subsidy programme to drive down the price of rice in the market.

Lol if Nigeria subsidizes rices, ban imports and provides low interest loans and smuggled rice is still cheaper it's gameover.

Rice Rice Rice.. Rich man food in Nigeria.

More than average Nigerians eat Rice every Sunday

The topic should be Nigeria women obsession with rice, I am still in love with pounded yam with Egusi

Rice is a celebrity food in Nigeria, in those days it's cooked only on Sundays

Rice is life

According to a representative of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, “farmers collected loans and they thought it was national cake being distributed to them. There were some local government chairmen in the north that told them that they shouldn’t bother themselves to pay the money because, when they visited their farms, there wasn’t anything to show for the money they got.”

That is the crux of the matter....and also why agricultural loan programmes don't work in Nigeria.

The people and the government are corrupt.

who eles cannot do without rice for a week?

Quite sad

One thing about Buharis govt is
that they love lies & govern by lies.

If you want to remain relevant in his
Cabinet or as an appointee, you must learn
how to lie or you get shut out or dumped.

The main characters the deserve special
mention and accolades for lying are

C In C ....... Boko Haram is technically defeated

*Liar Mohammed .... Information
*Fashola. ...... Works & Darkness
*Audu Ogbe (Brazilian grass).... Agriculture.
*Defense minister... So irrelevant, I don't even know him.
*Ngige..... Labour & creator of millions of jobs.
*Health minister.... Another irrelevant colorless man.
*Amaechi...... Tok, Tok Minister of T P.

And others, too numerous to mention.

The dangerous issue about such people is that
they are not even aware they are lieing.

Unless God intervenes, we are facing another
4 years of NeXt LeVeL of lies.

I'm going to love this article.

Nigeria has no comparative advantage in rice production hence naturally for it to be imported. The problem has never been producing rice. The problem has been producing competitively .

Rice smuggling is costing the government billions of naira in import duty. I'm sure if import duty on rice was 20%, the FG could easily earn revenue of a N100bn or more. Instead, the government is wasting tens of billions on the same product.SMH

If we nor eat rice wetin we gain?

Our government and their lies... We dey watch

Unserious people....

Lord, forgive me for voting in APC in 2015

I never knew hypocrisy could attain a whole new level effortlessly, with impunity.

Foreign rice is poisonous indeed. Lol. Obviously, this is a lie from the pit of hell.

This government tend to lie a lot just to score cheap points.

They will continue to lie.

Nonsense and ingredients.

Im eating Rice as am typing

Nigeria's government is still pursuing the line that its rice self-sufficiency programme is a success, despite startling evidence to the contrary.

Just look at how APC's propaganda is been revealed in 5D.


Farmers collected government loans and thought it was national cake being shared

A man can be in UK and not OK, he can live in US and still be USELESS. All good things come from ABOVE not ABROAD

Blue3k2:


This would be an interesting FOI request. What're the loan requirements. I i want to know the percentage of defaulters, what states and why.



Lol if Nigeria subsidizes rices, ban imports and provides low interest loans and smuggled rice is still cheaper it's gameover.

they are wasting their time.fix oil and gas first and diversification will come naturally.
They won't hear.
You cannot beat Asians with rice production because they have capacity,not some men fooling themselves in some 1000sqm rice mills
And fcfa is even dropping by the day ooops!smugglers just won again

This government is insincere. Other countries that subsidize agriculture have evidence to support their achievement.
Here the government is distorting facts. I don't even know what the Nigerian milled rice looks like but I heard it is of low quality

Eating chaff in the name of rice.

Deceit and propaganda will never travel far.

A robust snapshot of the failure of this administration's agricultural policies and initiatives.

I repeat, Buhari and APC have nothing to offer Nigerians, they will not move Nigeria forward.

Wow! Wow!! Wow!!! This is deep.

mosho2good:
A man can be in UK and not OK, he can live in US and still be USELESS. All good things come from ABOVE not ABROAD

I'm glad I tried it, I'm really enjoying it. As appreciation, I want to say a big thank you to the guy offering this

I know these long ago, the question I usually ask those arguing Buhari fake rice revolution is that how many of them have local rice in their house, amazingly none of them do

tactius:
That is the crux of the matter....and also why agricultural loan programmes don't work in Nigeria.

The people and the government are corrupt.

.......because the people are their government?
The people own the government?
The government is there for as long as the people want it to be there?
The people's values are reflected in the government?
Etc, etc, etc

Subsidizing agriculture would still make no economic sense even if corruption and incompetence weren't an issue: an obsession with eliminating all imports, even of things in which one has no comparative advantage, is as ridiculous as an in-demand musician turning down well-paying jobs so he can stay home and do all his own cooking, cleaning and ironing in the name of "avoiding waste". Such an approach betrays a complete lack of understanding of the concept of "opportunity cost".

That Nigeria also happens to suffer from endemic corruption and public-sector incompetence only makes an already terrible situation worse, turning what was already a waste of money into a black hole of destructive spending. Not that any of this matters to the true intended beneficiaries of the scheme - all those who will now get to "chop" their share of "national cake" through fraud and outright theft.