Opposition mounts as Nigeria nears rice sufficiency


•EUROPEAN NATIONS KICK •3 MILLION TONS OF RICE READY FOR HARVESTING •CBN SPENDS N23BN TO IMPROVE LOCAL RICE, SOYA BEAN PRODUCTION
November 2, 2016 Sanya Adejokun- Abuja

With clear indications that Nigeria may finally be on the way to meeting its rice consumption needs, some foreign countries are already displaying dissatisfaction and mounting opposition.

This is as farmers across 13 states are starting near the end of wet season rice production with the help of N23 billion loans provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.

A few weeks ago, the Ambassador of a European nation led a delegation to the office of CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, complaining that Nigerians had been importing stock fish from his country long before independence.

According to our sources, he lamented the decision of CBN to exclude the commodity from those that were eligible for importation with foreign exchange sourced from official window.

Emefiele bluntly informed his guest that while his country had over $1 trillion in its foreign reserve, Nigeria as at then had just about $25 billion and challenged the Ambassador to arrange for business people from his country to come to Nigeria and develop the wide coastal line from Lagos to Calabar.

Also, the European Union has placed a ban on importation of beans from Nigeria on the pretext that it contained “too much chemical.”

Former Deputy Governor of CBN, Dr. Obadaih Mailafia told Nigerian Tribune that the move was a direct consequence of action of CBN and Federal Government to attain self-sufficiency in food production and curtail unnecessary imports.

During an inspection of wet season rice harvest in some local government areas of Kebbi State on Sunday and Monday this week, Emefiele gave the assurance that Nigeria would soon exit importation of rice.

According to him, farmers in Kebbi State alone have produced one million tonnes of rice currently being harvested aside the 1.2 million from Kano and the 800,000 tonnes already harvested in Niger State.

Emefiele disclosed that N23 billion has been spent so far in promoting local farming and production of rice, soya bean, sugar and other important produce.

The CBN team visited Wasagu, Argungu, Birnin Kebbi and some other locations to inspect harvest and kick off dry season farming.

He added that Kebbi, Niger, Anambra, Calabar and other rice producing states would feed the nation and ensure availability of foods items in Nigeria.

He explained further that the progamme which is going to be a continuous exercise will boost economic activities of the country and diversify the nation economy.

“Our team has visited Niger, Eboyin, Ogun states and now we are in Kebbi State where the programme started” he added.

He then urge the media men to investigate the farmer in other to know where their challenges are and make the correction for the future occurrence.

Emefiele said that the bank wants to be part of the scheme so that more farmers can benefit from the project in Kebbi as well as other states where Soya bean can be grown successfully.

He said that this is in line with the bank’s ambition of making Nigeria food sufficient and simultaneously preserving the nation’s foreign reserve.

Annual consumption of rice in Nigeria is put at over 6 million metric tonnes per annum. Local production is about 2.8 million metric tonnes.

Sugar importation is put at 1.7 million tonnes. All in all the Central Bank of Nigeria estimates that a whopping 11 billion dollars (N3.1 trillion) is spent annually to import wheat, rice, sugar and fish.

“We currently spend so much money importing products that with the right nudge, we can become self-sufficient in.

“We spend billions importing vegetable oil into the country. You are aware that CBN don’t give foreign exchange anymore to people importing palm oil, vegetable oil into the country.

“We expect oil palm to be produced in Nigeria, soya bean should be turned into vegetable oil that we can consume in this country.

“We also have rice, wheat, palm oil, cassava, sugar, fish and several commodities. With the CBN anchor borrowers programme, we are on the path to food sufficiency.

“Those particular commodities we have been spending so much money on importing we want to make sure that we are able to produce this in Nigeria.

“We have the potential, we have the land, human resource and scientist that can give us the quality seeds so why should we be importing any of those things,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor of Kebbi state, Col. Samaila Yombe (rtd) said with the CBN intervention, farming in the state will become more mechanised.

“By tomorrow, thanks to the CBN, threshers will be bought for the farmers and wastes during harvest will be curtailed.

“Before now, farmers in the state do not have enough seeds and fertilizer, but with the parties involve, each farmer gets improved seedlings along with enough fertilizers.

“With better equipments, when you come back here for the next farming season, you will see a more advanced farming technology being used,” he said.

Also, the Director, Development Finance, CBN, Dr Mudashiru Olaitan said 73,075 farmers were benefiting from the CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme in Kebbi state alone.

He said that rice farming under the programme was going on in all 21 local government areas of the state with an estimated yield of 1.2 million metric tonnes per harvest.

He said that per hectare, the estimated yield was six to eight tonnes. He said the farmers have been linked with buyers at an agreed sum of N6,600 per bag of unprocessed rice.

In his response, the Kebbi State Governor, Senator Atiku Abubakar Bagudu thank the visit assured them that kebbi would achieved is target.

“We are going to visit Zuru where they would producing share butter and other farm crops as kebbi state is blessed with farming corp and irrigation” he added.

He further pointed out that the anchor Borrowers progamme as reduce the level of unemployment and crime in the state, appeal to the Mr. President that the progamme should be continues one.

He was also in Kebbi state to flag off the beginning of Dry Season farming in the state.

The Soyabean project is a partnership between Kebbi state government and International Capital Market Group (ICMG) commodity in Lagos.

The agreement is for ICMG to provide 12kilogram of improved seedlings and two bags of fertilizers to small farmers and 50 kg of seedlings and 10 bags of fertilizers to large farmers.

The 5,000 farmers working on the project were also given N170,000 per hectare to take care of running cost.

At the end of the planting season, each hectare is estimated to produce 25 bags and out of that, four bags will be collected as repayment for the seedlings, fertilizers and money provided.

http://tribuneonlineng.com/opposition-mounts-nigeria-nears-rice-sufficiency/

We have to be self sufficient as we have no choice and no going back. Those foreign nation can suck a lolli

.

Even palm oil? Na everything we dey import 4 this country?

Nice one

Hmmmm nice development

Bokoharam needs to stop their madness so that Agriculture could blossom in the NE too.
IB spent $22m on food export annually, Now we spend $11m. What a massive improvement. To hell with the West, ain't no stopping us now.
Kiss the truth!

No nation will kick or stop any other nation from reaching food sufficiency. Apart from stock fish all our food import are from asia
All these are lies from the pit of apc propaganda machine just to look good in the eyes of the people

Redoil:
No nation will kick or stop any other nation from reaching food sufficiency.
All these are lies from the pit of apc propaganda machine just to look good in the eyes of the people

EU places a ban on Nigeria commodities---Fact. Next time don't wail while typing.
Kiss the truth!

GOOD DEVELOPMENT

Nigeria can be great.

Redoil:
No nation will kick or stop any other nation from reaching food sufficiency.
All these are lies from the pit of apc propaganda machine just to look good in the eyes of the people

How do people like you even think?

good one, if what am reading is true.
Palm oil ?...na wa oo na everything we dey import?

Redoil:
No nation will kick or stop any other nation from reaching food sufficiency.
All these are lies from the pit of apc propaganda machine just to look good in the eyes of the people

You are EXTREMELY NAIVE and THOUGHTLESS. If you really believe the highlighted, then you really should just return to your VILLAGE, because you have NO CLUE how this world operates.

Nice development. These EU countries want us to keep buying their products as they don't want us to be self efficient. Hearing this news has given them chronic heart failure.

timeboss:
Bokoharam needs to stop their madness so that Agriculture could blossom in the NE too.
IB spent $22m on food export annually, Now we spend $11m. What a massive improvement. To hell with the West, ain't no stopping us now.
Kiss the truth!

what is truth?

even orange n pawpaw

yemaldo:
Even palm oil? Na everything we dey import 4 this country?

yemaldo:
Even palm oil? Na everything we dey import 4 this country?

It was the drunkard Jonathan that started Nigeria importing palm oil again

Rossikk:


You are EXTREMELY NAIVE and THOUGHTLESS. If you really believe the highlighted, then you really should just return to your VILLAGE, because you have NO CLUE how this world operates.

If you send him back to his village, you send him back to the 13th century. We cannot afford anymore cavemen
Kiss the truth!

rasbaby:


what is truth?

do not question the truth, just kiss it.
Kiss the truth!

Jazzlite:
even orange n pawpaw

do not forget toothpicks.
Kiss the truth!

Stock fish again? Haaa any how sha btw this year farmers been produce soya beans plenty plenty for kd. E be d soil is good.


Who be dat Wey dey say him no believe say another country fit block another country from self sufficiency?

timeboss:
EU places a ban on Nigeria commodities---Fact. Next time don't wail while typing.
Kiss the truth!

What do those people know besides spitting venomous saliva all over the place?? The very fundamentals of politics of international trade, they've got no idea.

Just the way all those importing electricity generators into this country wouldn't want PHCN to ever become efficient is the same way countries from which we import agricultural products would rather we remain dependent on them to meet our needs. Becoming self sufficient means depletion of revenue to them which is an undesirable situation.

Shouldn't a toddler know this??

PDP supporters are just too darn ignorant.

And the propaganda continues, everyday these mad people keeps telling us how Nigeria is now producing millions of tons of rice yet a bag of local rice is still 22,000 naira a bag! Why dont they keep quiet instead of all these we will, we shall, we are about to gibberish they keep telling us everyday. I'VE NEVER SEEN THIS KIND OF GOVERNMENT BEFORE!

timeboss:
Bokoharam needs to stop their madness so that Agriculture could blossom in the NE too.
IB spent $22m on food export annually, Now we spend $11m. What a massive improvement. To hell with the West, ain't no stopping us now.
Kiss the truth!

Dont be fooled, why we now import less is simply because we now consume less and not because of local substitute! people that eat three square meal a day during the time of GEJ now eat once a day. They keep feeding you lies on daily basis because they know you are too gullible to challenge them on the truth!

Adminisher:


It was the drunkard Jonathan that started Nigeria importing palm oil again

Who will believe this your mere illusion here?

The only European nation I saw "complaining" in that article was doing so about stock fish and not rice. Why do our journalists sensationalize everything ? Besides we import most of our rice from Asia and they should be the ones complaining

timeboss:
Bokoharam needs to stop their madness so that Agriculture could blossom in the NE too.
IB spent $22m on food export annually, Now we spend $11m. What a massive improvement. To hell with the West, ain't no stopping us now.
Kiss the truth!

You are the IB bro!

Shed more light.

oesnac:
I need one person to give 20$ to invest in a business without returning the money and any other profits he/she make out of the 20$ I will not collect it.
Contact me on fanolamuyiwa@Gmail dot com or check signature. Once u agree with just one condition and u are able to meet up, then thousands of dollars await you.

You are right. Those saying all manner of derogatory things are actually the naive ones. How can a European nation or any other country stop another country from achieving food sufficiency. They haven't even stopped north Korean leader from making nuclear weapons. Most of our rice is imported from Asia, not even Europe. Why does the black man blame the white man for all our woes. Its really baffling.

Redoil:
No nation will kick or stop any other nation from reaching food sufficiency.
All these are lies from the pit of apc propaganda machine just to look good in the eyes of the people