Nigeria targets 6.4m tonne milled rice production by 2015
THE
Federal government has initiated moves to increase Nigeria’s “milled
rice” production to 6.4 million tonnes per year within the next three
years.
The Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina who disclosed this yesterday, added that beside the government working to bring about 100 large rice mills into the country, it had equally planned to achieve the target by forming clusters of rice farms around the mills and also equip farmers with the right seeds, technologies and practices.
According to the Minister, such height, when attained, would mean that Nigeria has made good its resolve to achieve “self sufficiency in rice production and complete substitution of imported rice by the year 2015.”
Adesina said the drive to increase the volume of locally produced rice had become imperative, not only because of the volatile nature of the rice market, but also due to the imminent rise in import bill on the commodity.
The Minister who spoke in Oriokuta in Owode-Egba, Ogun State stated; “Nigeria is the world’s second importer of rice, spending about N356 billion for about two million metric tonnes of milled rice. The world’s rice market is highly volatile. Nigeria largest supplier, Thailand is poised to increase price by over 50 per cent. Hence, if we do not grow our own rice, our import bill may also go up by 50 per cent“.
He spoke while commissioning a cottage rice mill, an agro - processing unit for S.K.F. He was represented at the occasion by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Ezekiel Oyemomi.
According to him, the government would encourage local production of rice, stressing that Nigeria, not only spends N1billion daily on rice importation but also risk paying more in foreign currency in future to import rice.
He said: “We have started with the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) where the issues of right seedlings are taken care of. Hitherto, people are planting just grains not realising that they will not get the correct yield. So, we will ensure now that the farmers get the correct seeds, to equally ensure higher yield.
“The second leg is that of fertiliser which is also part of GES, we distributing subsidised fertilisers and other agro - chemicals to farmers. We are also mechanised agriculture so that we can have a rice growing clusters where existing farmers would be given all inputs and they would be around rice mills like this. So that rice mill like this would not lie waste and the market would also spring around the area”.
“The Federal Government is also bringing in 100 large Rice processing mills because we know that without those things, we won’t be able to produce the rice that have the correct quality and comparable to the one our people are lusting after.”
According to him, “our people tend to go for the rice from overseas rather patronise locally made ones. But if we are produce locally rice that compare favourably with foreign ones, our people will go for home grown rice.“
The Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina who disclosed this yesterday, added that beside the government working to bring about 100 large rice mills into the country, it had equally planned to achieve the target by forming clusters of rice farms around the mills and also equip farmers with the right seeds, technologies and practices.
According to the Minister, such height, when attained, would mean that Nigeria has made good its resolve to achieve “self sufficiency in rice production and complete substitution of imported rice by the year 2015.”
Adesina said the drive to increase the volume of locally produced rice had become imperative, not only because of the volatile nature of the rice market, but also due to the imminent rise in import bill on the commodity.
The Minister who spoke in Oriokuta in Owode-Egba, Ogun State stated; “Nigeria is the world’s second importer of rice, spending about N356 billion for about two million metric tonnes of milled rice. The world’s rice market is highly volatile. Nigeria largest supplier, Thailand is poised to increase price by over 50 per cent. Hence, if we do not grow our own rice, our import bill may also go up by 50 per cent“.
He spoke while commissioning a cottage rice mill, an agro - processing unit for S.K.F. He was represented at the occasion by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Ezekiel Oyemomi.
According to him, the government would encourage local production of rice, stressing that Nigeria, not only spends N1billion daily on rice importation but also risk paying more in foreign currency in future to import rice.
He said: “We have started with the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) where the issues of right seedlings are taken care of. Hitherto, people are planting just grains not realising that they will not get the correct yield. So, we will ensure now that the farmers get the correct seeds, to equally ensure higher yield.
“The second leg is that of fertiliser which is also part of GES, we distributing subsidised fertilisers and other agro - chemicals to farmers. We are also mechanised agriculture so that we can have a rice growing clusters where existing farmers would be given all inputs and they would be around rice mills like this. So that rice mill like this would not lie waste and the market would also spring around the area”.
“The Federal Government is also bringing in 100 large Rice processing mills because we know that without those things, we won’t be able to produce the rice that have the correct quality and comparable to the one our people are lusting after.”
According to him, “our people tend to go for the rice from overseas rather patronise locally made ones. But if we are produce locally rice that compare favourably with foreign ones, our people will go for home grown rice.“
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