Rice importation into Nigeria would end by 2020, the Policy Adviser of the John Kufuor Foundation (JKF), Hon. Abraham Dwuma, has said.

He also said that Africa Rice Advocacy Platform (ARAP) under the JKF was also focused to achieve zero importation of rice on the continent.

Dwuma told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin that the Africa Rice Advocacy Platform (ARAP) had created a rice value chain to achieve this.

”Two years from now, Nigeria should have no business importing rice because I have travelled the length and breadth of the country and I know the potentials.

”Kebbi State alone can produce all the rice Nigeria needS; talk more of Sokoto and even Kwara.

“‘For, example, in Akwa Ibom, they have one of the best lands for rice production.

”When we came to Nigeria, farmers were doing 1.5 tonnes per hectare, now they are doing six tonnes per hectare two times in a year.

”We believe that with this platform, we will get there,” Dwuma said.

He said the foundation was borne out of the desire of former Ghanaian President, John Kufuor, to ensure that African farmers earn a living from rice production.

”When Kufuor won the World Food Prize, he said he realised that African farmers need a voice, then, if they need a voice, we have to bring them together.

”So, there was a need to do what we call the advocacy platform in four chosen countries; Ghana, Burkina Faso, Tanzania and Nigeria.

”Through this platform, we are not only talking to the government but to the farmers to improve their quality, their quantity and their work,” Dwuma said.

He, however, noted that for the value chain to be sustainable, it should be supported by business modules.

”What we are doing now is that we are creating the rice value chain and for this value chain to be sustainable, we need to be supported by business modules at all levels of the cabin.

”We are creating what we call business modules. For instance, if someone is an input dealer, he will be able to bring the right input to farmers and the farmers are being educated to do it well,” he said.

Also speaking, Secretary General of ARAP, Alhaji Abdulrauf Lawal, said the platform had made rice production easy in order to halt importation.

”It is a pity that we spend over a billion naira per day to import rice, that is N365 billion per year which can be used to venture into other things like youth employment and improvement of social amenities.

”We are using this much to import when we can plant rice in Nigeria; we have various types of rice; swamp rice and irrigated rice that will start growing with good water and climate.

“With the value chain that we are creating now from production, processing to marketing and consumption, it will get better,” he said.

Lawal, who doubles as the Deputy National Vice President of Nigeria Rice Advocacy Platform, however, noted that the platform was collaborating with the state chapters of the platform to support them.

“The platform was established in 2013 and it comprises of the seed producers, the mechanisation providers, the financial institutions, the processors and the farmers.

”We give the state chapters’ technology, seedlings and inputs for them to produce well because if the input isn’t good, the products won’t be good.

”We are also making their job easier by mechanising them to remove drudgery in rice farming,” Lawal said.

He, however, appealed for sponsorship for the platform to achieve its aim.

”Our major source of funding is Kufuor, but it is not enough, we need more people like him, most especially within Nigeria.

“ If Nigeria develops, the West Africa sub-region will develop; we will be a net exporter of rice,” Lawal said.

Source: https://www.mediahelm.com.ng/2018/12/rice-importation-ends-2020.html

Another Lie

Another Lie..

Another lie

Or will be the highest importer of rice!!
Ndi Ara

Do we have the capacity to produce enough to go round the country

I thought they banned rice importation since Bubu's first year

In Tubaba voice - Them want tell us another story again o!

Ok

Laughable!

Buhari rule to end in 2019

My friend mother her been importing rice since 1999 the woman still go work this night fire war real, #stick to your hustle forget the news dem go still gossip

BIG FAT LIE © 1990

Mtceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew

I have never seen anyone eating LAKE rice or other local rice except ofada

castrokins:
Another Lie..

Hmmm

This lying machines have finished rebooting

They are shifting the goal post again.

That's how they promised that our refineries will be functioning fully by 2019...

na so anoda lie.... oya hit me

Believe this government @ the expense of adding to your stupidity.

https://www.mediahelm.com.ng/2018/12/rice-importation-ends-2020.html

https://www.independent.ng/fg-makes-u-turn-says-it-cant-stop-fuel-importation-2019/amp/

and

Food security
Production figure of the most consumed food item in the country, rice, has been a subject of controversy in recent time. The United States’ Department of Agriculture’s World Markets and Trade recently dropped a bombshell, saying that more than three million metric tonnes of rice had been imported into Nigeria this year. Its report also stated that Nigeria’s local rice production dropped from 2016 to 2018 compared to the situation in 2015.


In view of this, the Country Representative and Regional Coordinator of Africa Rice Centre (AfricaRice), Ibadan, Dr Francis Nwilene, cleared the air by revealing to The Guardian that Nigeria’s demand for rice per annum hovers around 7.8 million metric tonnes, while production still hovers around 5.8 million metric tonnes.
[color=#990000]
Though this has generated hot arguments, it points to one fact, that Nigeria is far from being food self-sufficient, let alone being food-secure.

The Regional Coordinator of the Cassava: Adding Value for Africa (C:AVA), Professor Kolawole Adebayo, while explaining how the government policy has failed, said he would not rate the government high either in diversification of the economy, in creation of opportunities in agriculture or in food security.

https://m.guardian.ng/features/buharis-agric-policy-fails-as-unemployment-agribusiness-failures-rise/

Tell me another lie. Yeye government. What gave me the impression that we elected these guys to lie. Always shifting goal post. They have nothing good to offer

I believe this government because people are now patronizing locally cultivated rice.

But they can still smuggle them without any difficulty in the North, abi? Yeye dey smell

Lie

Nigeria is in trouble.


Nigerian youths are indeed very lazy.


None of the people above read the article before shouting LIE up and down.


Their believe is that it’s a statement from the government. With this kind of youths the future of this country is bleak.


I’m not sorry to say this but all of you are nonentities.

this government is re-LIE-able.

At least we invented the LIE Machine

Puleeeeease!