By Ifechukwu Nwobodo-Anyanwu

We will not be exaggerating if we call Ebonyi state the home of rice production in Nigeria. What many do not know are the resilience and hardship that have kept this industry going since 1942, long before Ebonyi State was created in 1996. There are a group of local farmers who despite the countless obstacles they experience daily, have been changing the narratives and feeding this nation with healthier, locally produced rice for almost 8 decades. For this expose, we will refer to them as Abakaliki Rice Farmers.

Abakaliki is the capital of Ebonyi State, southeast Nigeria. The state is blessed with a near- perfect savannah and hydromorphic soil suitable for growing rice- a staple food that is consumed both locally and globally. However, rice farming did not come to Abakaliki as a business venture but as an answer to hunger during the Second World War. The state has the Colonial Department of Agriculture to thank for this innovation. At first, the indigenous farmers put up a lot of resistance to this new trend as it was believed that the cultivation of rice somehow impeded that of yam- a famous crop referred to as the king of all crops. When the farmers realized how easy it was to grow rice, they later tuned in and started growing rice alongside the foreigners and other Igbos from other states that came to Abakaliki to farm.

Rice Associations sprang up with time and by 1960, they had started exporting to other states and countries like Ghana, Togo, etc. They did not just grow rice, they also became known as rice milling centre for the country. Other states milled the rice they had harvested at Abakaliki.
It is important to note that these farmers have suffered and are suffering many setbacks as rice farming involves processes that could be made easier with mechanized farming. Clearing and ploughing of land are still done with local hoes, this affects the farmers and the quantity of production. The outburst of rice disease in 1970 and the brown leaf rice disease of 1981 could not stop them. Rice cultivation suffered setbacks in the 1990s when rice gall midge (an insect) attacked rice farms and made many farmers bankrupt.

It is a paradox that in 2010, research showed that Nigeria is both the largest producer of rice in West Africa and also the largest importer of the same product. During Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s administration, the country spent N1 billion daily on rice importation. The reasons behind this anomaly are not far-fetched. Rice production involves clearing, ploughing, seed scattering, weeding, fertilization, harvesting, sickling, wiping, winnowing, parboiling, drying, milling and sieving. All of these processes when done with little or no mechanical input wearies the farmer and reduces the output.Another factor that militates against rice cultivation in Abakaliki is the issue of flooding. Rice requires a reasonable amount of rainfall to guarantee a good harvest. Excessive rain causes flooding making the rice crops sip water when submerged in floodwater for up to two weeks, they become too weak to carry the seeds. In the same vein, heavy rains cause the rice to fall flat to the ground. Also, when rainfall is not abundant in the area, the rice would lack water to sustain it and the plants will dry up. Once the plants go dry, the rice plant sheds its seeds prematurely. The answer to this is the provision of adequate irrigation facilities for the farmers.

The closure of the border against rice importation and the increase in tariff of rice coming into Nigeria by 70% was in the interest of the nation’s economy. Regrettably, the corruption virus that has eaten deep into our nation’s fabrics also contributed to the inflation of the prices of local rice. Rice smugglers have not given up and their activities undermine federal government efforts to boost local rice production. In 2018, 5 billion USD worth of goods including rice was smuggled into Nigeria. An estimated volume of over 2 million metric tonnes of parboiled rice was smuggled into Nigeria.
The Buhari administration’s dream of self-sufficiency in rice production could still be fully realized if the grass root farmers are identified and their needs provided directly. Rice farmers must be identified, given subsidies like fertilizers and loans irrespective of their party affiliations. The Central Bank of Nigeria must work with farmers as cooperatives and not necessarily disbursing funds to state governors.

With the recent improvement in de-stoning and milling of rice, the consumption rate of local rice has improved tremendously, but we are still a long way from being truly self-sufficient. Road networks leading to rice farms should be constructed and new storage facilities erected.
This rice planting month, we celebrate Abakaliki Rice Farmers for their efforts all these years despite changing policies by the government and discouraging patronage from the citizenry

Ifechukwu Nwobodo-Anyanwu. email: emelstephy@gmail.com

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