ahiboilandgas:
ethnic intellectual...with a poorly research write up...no research data to back up your imaginary claims ...the north has about 65 percent of land mass of Nigeria ...so by natural selection the arable farming land is there .....stallion rice owned by Indians and hold large farm in nassarawa state and several southerner work there as accountant,farm manager etc ....choscharis also own a farm and a mill ,and Anambra and ebony state .....so u want rice to grow in the gully erosion in south east or what ? THEN university of Nigeria can do a research on it ....u don't want in land port up north but to jam pack Lagos then logistic cost goes up...no body stops a southerner to buy farm in nassarawa state to produce rice ....u need to describ a northerner teeth in your crude ethnic driven research write up ( academic don't reason like that) Nigeria will not be a dumping ground get this inside your head

ednut1:
I am with buhari on this. I am yoruba and the op was yarning nonsense. Rice importation is detrimental . Lets find something else to eat.

Ratello:
The Rice Ban: The Conspiracy You Need To Know About It!

So I decided to pay a visit to one of Nigeria's raw food business hub, the Iddo market where they sell rice in bulk at the depot. Iddo has a rail terminus built way back into time and it is also close to the Lagoon which makes it a market that attracts every living souls in the commerce industry of food trading in Nigeria and neighboring African countries. It is a place you don't want to miss when it comes to buying your grains (especially rice) in bulk and resell or supply other little suppliers and make good profits. Iddo depot as it is popularly called is a place to be. A very dirty place not minding the revenues it generates to the state and country, you see littered cooked foods all over the place, open drainage systems (the one popularly called gutters here) are being used as port of defecation. The bridge between the rice warehouses (terminus area and G'Cappa area) are occupied by food vendors and the deranged ones with young Mallams and commuter drivers as place of cohabiting whenever the need arises.

I choose to give this broad intro before I delve into the subject of discussion to prove a point. Iddo can be likened to Apapa too, a seaport area of Lagos that is supposed to be more beautiful than Victoria Island, Lekki Peninsula, Ikoyi etc if you ask me, Apapa should be like Nigeria's New York because what this place generates into the coffers of the nation is mind boggling. Alas, Apapa is so badly planned that you think it is one giant ghetto. You see dirty drainage systems all round, pot holes all over the roads and huge trucks with big containers packed by the road sides and in the process causing traffic logjam.

Back to my intention, I had visited Iddo market to confirm some things about the mad increase in prices of local rice triggered by the closure of border against importation of foreign rice (Thailand, India, Brazil, Taiwan etc) knowing fully well that our annual local rice production (especially concentrated up North) is not sufficient enough to meet up with our annual local rice consumption. I prod further, why this closure of our borders and ban on rice? My first port of call was when iI was directed to see to see one Edo man who is into rice business at the terminus side of the market who on learning that I came purposely to buy rice in bulk especially the Thailand brand quickly changed towards me and said, "my brother there is no Thailand Rice anywhere and those who have it will not sell it to you because of fear it is better you go for the local ones" and I replied, "but I used to see the foreign ones around?" he just looked at me and said, "those ones are the ones they bought before the ban by Buhari". Many thoughts ran through my mind with the speed of light with each thought jostling for supremacy and justification but I did not budge to their attentions I only focused on one thing, which was "wrong timing". Oh yes, that is what it is and the truth and nothing but the truth. How can you close your border to a commodity you have not perfected ìts local production and profit maximization for the benefits of the nation and you expect a positive result?

After this assurance, another thought flashed through my mind immediately with a rider saying, "Rice Production Up North And The Futuristic Danger Of Pillaging The Agrarian Potentials Of The South", immediately, I got the memo as my mind asked me, copy that? What Nigerians must quickly get into their heads is this; President Buhari has proven beyond reasonable doubts that he is for a particular section of the country than for others and he is not pretending about it. The CBN Governor, Emefiele, is a classical example of a slavish Southerner being used by his Fulani overlords to plunder the wealth of this nation to forcefully develop the north. Right from the helipad at Katsina, the dry seaport at Kaduna, the directive from "above" to move seized containers from the south to up North with immediate effect, the billions of Naira donated by the CBN sometimes last month towards the north development and huge funds paid to rice millers who end up rebagging rice seized from Southern rice merchants in Lagos and down to opening of borders up north with little or no serious supervision like it was down south tells a lot.

My curiosity within prompted me to ask questions and I obeyed. I asked one young Alhaji from the North after exchanging pleasantries that I want to buy rice and it must be Thailand brand. The young man exclaimed, "aahhh Oga you no go fit see that one ooo because Baba (referring to Buhari) ordered the custom officers to even shoot anyone caught with a handful" to which I retorted, "are you saying custom are empowered to kill anyone with foreign rice?" and he said yes. I kept mute for a second and I continued, "but we no dey produce enough local rice now to meet up with wetin Nigeria dey consume every year", he replied, "kai my brother I just tire". He later introduced me to one of his friends, Kadiri, a very jovial and vocal dude, dark skinned with original dark brown teeth typical of Hausa chewing "goro constantly". He joined in the conversation and said, "walahi Baba no good here, he no suppose close the border because our people like the foreign rice better". I asked him why is he saying that, he replied, "the local rice is not too good because if you cook some, you will see it becoming white, full of stones, too dirty, tasteless and not rising but the foreign rice is sweeter and good to eat when you taste it". At this juncture I faced him and said, "but you vote for Buhari now so why you dey complain". He declined by saying he never did likewise his other friend, the young Alhaji, which made me to say, "but you be Fulani now" he said "babu Oga, I be Hausa ooo" this was echoed by the young Alhaji too.

After this lively discussions, I decided to move around the market to explore the wares within and I was shocked to notice that I couldn't set my eyes on any foreign rice except a 10kg pack of Rising Sun from Thailand out of the over 15 brands of local rice I saw at the market well displayed. I took time to ask questions ranging from prices (N15,000 to N16,000) to State of production (with Kano, Kebbi, Kaduna and Sokoto accounting for the States with the highest suppliers. It now dawned on me the conspiracy behind the over concentration of local rice milling factories up north when in actual fact rice paddies and plants can be encouraged and supported down south, a fact to this was the Ofada rice production plant and paddy grown and owned by Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo, Senior Pastor, Kingsway International, in Ogun State not to mention the famous Abakaliki rice grown at Abakaliki in today's Ebonyi State way back in the late eighties not forgetting Anambra too and other fledgling rice milling plants down south neglected by federal government intervention funds under Buhari but only concentrated up North in order to make the north a force to rule over south in the areas of rice production without being challenged by the south rice potentials long neglected knowing fully well that we consume rice predominately as one of our popular foods in this part of the world.
Still on my findings, a lady trader of Yoruba extracts once narrated a sad tale that happened within the Iddo market complex on a certain day just last month (August) after the ban. She said that on that day, they had resumed like every other day only to meet with fierce looking soldiers and custom officers fully armed with sub machine guns blocking entrance to the market while some invaded the market forcing open locked shops without the owners in there and carting away sizable numbers of bags of rice and even went with trailer loads of rice only for this rice to be resold to some of the rice merchants of northern extraction at ridiculous prices, this was when the conspiracy to forcefully empower the north and consolidate the monopoly power of rice dominance within the country into their hands was further established within me. My research gave me the following local rice brands; Tomato King, Big Bull, Labana, NaijaSweetRice, Super Champion, Uncle Chef, Umza Classic Rice, Famous Rice, Lake Rice, Mama's Choice, Famco, Royal Stallion, Rising Sun (foreign), Mama Pride etc. Out of this, Tomato King, Big Bull, Lake Rice, Royal Stallion, Mama Pride and NaijaSweetRice were considered the best out of the packs.

As I took my leave to my destination, I ponder on what brought me here and I shook my head at the mental madness exhibited by the so-called Southern leaders against their people even in their own geographical location all the way from the north, when they should be defending the interests and economic survival of their people like an average northerner would do for his or her people. I can only imagine the damaging effects this conspiracy of silence from our southern leaders in the face of oppression has in stock in the not - too - far - distance. Nigeria is my country for now but it is very certain that we have a president that wants to tell us that this is not "Nigeria but Northern Nigeria"!

Ratello!

Cc: Lalasticlala

Ratello:


You still have a lot to learn buddy. The politics in this rice business is what this article is all about go back and read the article again and learn for once.

Ratello:


Like what are you suggesting we should look for to eat? You fail to pick the lessons in this article just hold on a little bit it will start unfolding before your very eyes

ahiboilandgas:
notting but sensational ,streotyping gagons written by paid agent of rice smugglers and their collorabotors ,using the weak link(ethnicity ) in our nation to stire up emotions ....why wouldn't the thai companies bring in fdi and set up process mills and sell their rice within Nigeria ...employing people and repatrating profit ...u are either a rice smugglers,or agents of rice merchant (foriegn)or their employee or an ethnic bigot ....if u want come to nassarawa I will give 5 hectares of land to farm rice ,Take to mill and sell...i know about rice more than u think we run 3 bothers rice our warehouse is in iddo ...

Ratello:


I like your type. Now answer me, do you consider continous rice ban a worthy policy on the long run for a consuming economy as ours? How many metric tonnes of rice are we producing as a nation and how many metric tonnes do we consume annually as a nation? While at that, tell us why rice is this costly despite boasting on national TV by the VP Osinbajo that we now grow about 90% of our rice. Why is it that many rice mills are more concentrated up North despite the fact that we have big hectares of arable lands down south to grow rice and why are northern rice millers funded
heavily why are our southern rice millers neglected and poorly funded.

Ratello:


Like what are you suggesting we should look for to eat? You fail to pick the lessons in this article just hold on a little bit it will start unfolding before your very eyes

Ratello:


I like your type. Now answer me, do you consider continous rice ban a worthy policy on the long run for a consuming economy as ours? How many metric tonnes of rice are we producing as a nation and how many metric tonnes do we consume annually as a nation? While at that, tell us why rice is this costly despite boasting on national TV by the VP Osinbajo that we now grow about 90% of our rice. Why is it that many rice mills are more concentrated up North despite the fact that we have big hectares of arable lands down south to grow rice and why are northern rice millers funded
heavily why are our southern rice millers neglected and poorly funded.

ednut1:
your piece is laced with tribal undertones . Its better the north gains from rice dan thailand and benin rep.

Ratello:


I like your type. Now answer me, do you consider continous rice ban a worthy policy on the long run for a consuming economy as ours? How many metric tonnes of rice are we producing as a nation and how many metric tonnes do we consume annually as a nation? While at that, tell us why rice is this costly despite boasting on national TV by the VP Osinbajo that we now grow about 90% of our rice. Why is it that many rice mills are more concentrated up North despite the fact that we have big hectares of arable lands down south to grow rice and why are northern rice millers funded
heavily why are our southern rice millers neglected and poorly funded.

Ratello:


Like what are you suggesting we should look for to eat? You fail to pick the lessons in this article just hold on a little bit it will start unfolding before your very eyes

Blue3k:
Alot of people seem to not understand the ban doesn't fix productivity issues with rice farming or agriculture in general. Farmers dont access to credit because they're risky becsuse they dont have collateral. The land isn't theirs most of the time. Nigeria doesn't have much mechanized farming. The last big issue is getting infrastructure to get goods from farm to market.

Ratello:


You still have a lot to learn buddy. The politics in this rice business is what this article is all about go back and read the article again and learn for once.

ahiboilandgas:
13 bn naira rice kebbi /Lagos fall from sky

Flyingngel:
As you rightly said, if Buhari is favouring the Northern part of Nigeria interms of rice production, what has the Southern Governors do concerning that?
Because the last time i check Buhari is not holding them to ransom? We are our problems in this part of Nigeria; until we come together, the North will continue to have that entitled way of life.

Ratello:


I like your type. Now answer me, do you consider continous rice ban a worthy policy on the long run for a consuming economy as ours? How many metric tonnes of rice are we producing as a nation and how many metric tonnes do we consume annually as a nation? While at that, tell us why rice is this costly despite boasting on national TV by the VP Osinbajo that we now grow about 90% of our rice. Why is it that many rice mills are more concentrated up North despite the fact that we have big hectares of arable lands down south to grow rice and why are northern rice millers funded
heavily why are our southern rice millers neglected and poorly funded.

Blue3k:
Alot of people seem to not understand the ban doesn't fix productivity issues with rice farming or agriculture in general. Farmers dont access to credit because they're risky becsuse they dont have collateral. The land isn't theirs most of the time. Nigeria doesn't have much mechanized farming. The last big issue is getting infrastructure to get goods from farm to market.

Blue3k:


Your reply doesn't make sense. It doesn't add anything to conversation or refute any fact I listed. Nigerians rice producers are simply unproductive when you compare them to asian counterparts. The lack of machinery is one reason.

See charts below.

Sholaani:


See brethren it is because there is no urgency for such... Loan is only advisable when you are sure of your market return..

Now if the availability of rice is going low... what do you think will happen?

We need motivation to produce all this things and this ban on importation is a big step towards achieving that tbh

Blue3k:


Your points are wrong and fly in face of logic. If there's no urgency for loans why is government making it their policy to provide such. There's no urgency for higher interest loans from banks. Unlike the government the bank wont lend below the inflation rate.

They're incentivized to produce more with higher prices but if the productivity issues aren't addressed they wont meet demand. Nigerian farmers are simply unproductive compared to Asian counterparts. I've already listed reasons.

The import ban wont correct the issues I mentioned. The previous import bans didn't accomplish anything close. All the did is cause high spike in prices and reduce investment in other areas. One example is high cost of cement makes home buildings more expensive.

Ratello:


I like your type. Now answer me, do you consider continous rice ban a worthy policy on the long run for a consuming economy as ours? How many metric tonnes of rice are we producing as a nation and how many metric tonnes do we consume annually as a nation? While at that, tell us why rice is this costly despite boasting on national TV by the VP Osinbajo that we now grow about 90% of our rice. Why is it that many rice mills are more concentrated up North despite the fact that we have big hectares of arable lands down south to grow rice and why are northern rice millers funded
heavily why are our southern rice millers neglected and poorly funded.

Ratello:

*RESPONSE FROM A CONCERNED STAKEHOLDER ON THE RICE CONSPIRACY*

Good morning bro.
I just read a post you forwarded on the platform.
In the post about 4 States are producing rice out of 36. I believe concentration of production should be on produce a country has comparative advantage in. The cost of production of rice in the south is high and farmers have moved away from rice due to problem of birds.
When starch importation was stopped cassava rose to 50k per ton but now its just 15k per ton, factory gate price.
To boost production of rice in the south, Akinwunmi Adesina allocated a giant rice mill to a former head of state who is also a farmer and I was a member of project Planning Committee holding meetings regularly . When it was time to start planting and bring the Processing Mill Buhari came in and diverted the Mill, since then no meeting on the Project.
Inputs support to farmers on various interventions usually come after planting. Just imagine bringing rice seed and fertilizer in August when farmers have planted in April.
We are in the same country where Sasakawa is taking place every year in the North but was stopped in the South. Thanks to Akinwunmi Adesina that extended Value Chain Development Program to the South. Their strategy is to make the South depends on the North for food so that when it is time to deal with the South food would be the major weapon to achieve their aim. We should not be sleeping.

#Copied

ahiboilandgas:
u are a nuisance,bigot and clown pain by pdp an ipob lost