Better Late than Never, the Way Out of Nigeria's Rice Quagmire: Lessons from Guyana

Last year December, I was opportune to write an article titled, "See How Nigerians Are Killing Their Rice Value Chain - Agriculture", posted at https://www.nairaland.com/2817491/see-how-nigerians-killing-rice. I thank everyone for the tempestuous wave of comments that saw it to the front page of West Africa's largest social media and online forum. At an individual and organisational level of analysis, we drew tremendous courage from the highly inspiring comments of so many amongst us.

Of particular interest is a statement I made that, "even if a bag of rice sells for N20,000,..."some people at the top and in our very society don't and won't care. Today, the reality of N20,000 per bag of rice stares us all in the face like our own images in a mirror. Jeffrey D. Sachs the brain behind the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) said in 2005, in the United Nations Millennium Declarations that, the paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty is the heart-wrenching reality of the vast populace of sub-Saharan Africa, out of which Nigerians alone constitute almost 20 percent. Yet, we are far from realising food security as a critical target and parameter of sustainable development.

Food security according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) refers to the capacity and sustained commitment to ensure food availability, food adequacy, food accessibility, and food affordability. In succinct terms, to be food secure implies that food is everywhere, enough, and cheap. We are far from these key indicators in Nigeria. Sadly and annoyingly enough, we are not the only importers of rice in the world as I discussed in my article last year. The difference is the longthroatedness, sheer greed and callousness.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, in South America, Guyana a country of less than 750,000 people according to 2015 estimate has achieved food security, self sufficiency, national subsistence and is now a net exporter of rice. We Nigerians outnumber the Guyanese by 226 Nigerians to 1 Guyanese. We are the proverbial "big for nothing", brainless giant and "agbaya" according to Yoruba language.

With over 923,000kmsq of land mass abysmally underutilized, Guyana's total land mass is roughly 215,000kmsq. The General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) Nizam Hassan reported a production growth of 7 percent, and an export growth of 10 percent by the end of November 2015.

According to Hassan, rice production, up to the end of November was 681,517 metric tonnes. This is a 7 percent increase or 46,279 metric tonnes over the whole of 2014 production of 635,235 metric tonnes. In his words,
“This reflects favourably, and this is because of the approaches that our farmers and all the other stakeholders have put into the industry to have the industry deliver."

So, it did not happen overnight. The government and all other stakeholders along with the citizens committed their resources and intellect towards building a sustainable future. All we continue to hear in Nigeria are news of proposals upon proposals, MOUs and wasteful projects we start clapping for even before they deliver a single cup of rice to our table.

A bag of rice is USD50 internationally and as long as we continue to exchange NGN400 to USD1, 50kg bags of rice at less than N20,000 is a castle in the air. Mere wishes. You cannot regulate a currency that you are not printing. There's no amount of boom shock policies that the CBN and Ministry of Finance are purportedly pushing that can regulate the price of Dollar.

It is common sense economics, if your income is dwindling then you have to broaden the scope of your production to attract more income. We can only earn FOREX through exports and the major export is crude oil. And substantial proportion of those proceeds over the years have been looted in hard cash FOREX and moved out of Nigeria stashed up in foreign banks. How do you want to fry plantain when your gallon of groundnut oil is in your neighbour's house? The earlier the better we start seeing the Dollar as a commodity, the better for us.

Having said that, today with Guyana's level of rice production, the per capita of rice in Guyana is almost 1 ton (20 x 50kg bags) per person. Most of the rice farms in Guyana are privately owned. What we have in Nigeria today are people who are too big to farm, but they are not too big to eat. Jobless youths are becoming militants and insurgents, tools in the very workshop of the devil, yet their very means of livelihoods are left to become swamps and forests. After the aspiring candidates have used them to perpetrate electoral and other forms of violence, they discard them like rags and later use the weight of office they acquired to start hunting down these jobless youths like rodents.

Just 50 people are owing banks in Nigeria a whooping total of over NGN1 trillion. This is a figure that you line 1,000,000 people up from Ojodu Berger across Lagos-Ibadan express way and share NGN1million to them for business start-ups. With each person having dependants up to 6 each almost 10 million Nigerians have been touched on the spot.

The political leadership continues to insult the intelligence of the very highly educated middle and low class Nigerians. The average low class Nigerian is far educated than a commissioner or local government chairman even some senators. But worse still is the mockery we make of ourselves expecting the borders to open for importation of rice.

This is another clarion call. This year is winding up. Let's together build a greater Nigeria.

Invest in Nigeria. Buy made in Nigeria. Let's save the little FOREX left.

Right now, no one needs to be told. People's bank statements are telling them what to eat. When the desirable is not available and acquirable, the available becomes desirable.

Better late than never.

Good write up. And truly this is a reality facing us in this country. I hope Seun and lalasticlala are there now to push this to the front page.

Abi we go dey beg una again nii?

For those of us who have children. Their generation is more extroverted, assertive and outspoken than ours.

Someone's child will one day ask, "but daddy you went to school, as in one of the best and all you could do was watch as our country got impoverished? "

The ball is in our court. This generation of gluttonous politicians ahead of us, within the next decade will leave this planet. And by then, we will be left with the sordid reality of the colossal mess they created through their greed and our silence.

This is my major reason why am going into agriculture. Because its very logical and simple we use naira here not dollar why are shouting about it. Also if there is locally made product everything will be normal. More we leave the life that doesn't belong to us and most of us are very lazy.. I have estimated the year of my agricultural dedicate my self tobe one year of sufferness in which we all know the result after it. Its very clear and open the only way forward now is agriculture nothing else nothing more. Our educational system is messed up.. Am afresh graduat of kp but I don't see myself in office but a physical work that I have flar for.. No employment again to much competition for just #100 when you can get billions for getting your hand darty without competing with you... But my brothers are yet to see this. I don't blame buhari for everything happening to us now because he want everyone to see our true worth of naira to other country currency. Our further lies in our hands. Am eagerly ready to start my farming business but short of fund.. Even I have made up my mind for this November and February mobilization if it fall short then I'll emback into my plans....... Thanks

Consume made in Nigeria

The future is in our hands

Mustack:
This is my major reason why am going into agriculture. Because its very logical and simple we use naira here not dollar why are shouting about it. Also if there is locally made product everything will be normal. More we leave the life that doesn't belong to us and most of us are very lazy.. I have estimated the year of my agricultural dedicate my self tobe one year of sufferness in which we all know the result after it. Its very clear and open the only way forward now is agriculture nothing else nothing more. Our educational system is messed up.. Am afresh graduat of kp but I don't see myself in office but a physical work that I have flar for.. No employment again to much competition for just #100 when you can get billions for getting your hand darty without competing with you... But my brothers are yet to see this. I don't blame buhari for everything happening to us now because he want everyone to see our true worth of naira to other country currency. Our further lies in our hands. Am eagerly ready to start my farming business but short of fund.. Even I have made up my mind for this November and February mobilization if it fall short then I'll emback into my plans....... Thanks

You said it all

And the government are doing nothing to improve agriculture

Sharing loan to sit at home farmers

dav8id:

You said it all
And the government are doing nothing to improve agriculture
Sharing loan to sit at home farmers

yea you're right. but let everyone wise up