Nigeria to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production by 2018 – Ogbeh
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural
Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, says the Federal Government is doing
everything possible to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production
before the end of 2018.
Ogbeh said this when he featured at the
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.
He said that there were strong
indications that Nigeria would become self-sufficient in rice
production by 2018 because many farmers had rediscovered their
potential in rice farming.
“First, let me congratulate Nigerians
for responding positively to the made-in-Nigeria rice during the last
Christmas period.
“Nigerians have discovered that
Nigerian rice is better than rice from Thailand and Vietnam, which
are the largest producers of rice in the world.
“We are in a rivalry with the two
countries for now and we will soon overtake them in rice production
and take over the market from them.
“People in Thailand do not eat
parboiled rice but white rice. So, all the parboiled rice they
produce is exported to Nigeria.
“Nigeria is the biggest consumer of
imported rice in the world.
“By so doing, we are transferring our
jobs to these two countries and leaving our teeming youths angry and
hungry,’’ he said.
The minister, however, said that rice
production in the country had improved appreciably, particularly in
states like Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo.
Ogbeh said that in the northeastern
part of the country, Kebbi, Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto, Katsina and Zamfara
states were taking due advantage of their dams by engaging in rice
production as well.
The minister said that the Federal
Government had just imported 110 rice mills, adding that the mills
would soon be distributed to communities across the country.
Ogbeh said that the gesture was aimed
at boosting the production and income of rice farmers, adding that
some of the rice mills could mill 50 tonnes of rice per day.
“We are distributing the mills to
communities, under a programme called `LIFE’, which entails taking
industries to villages, because we don’t have the whole population
in Abuja, Lagos, Enugu, Port Harcourt or Kano.
“We will satisfy our demand for rice.
By so doing, we will be creating 20 million jobs in the villages and
saving about five million dollars used for the importation of rice
daily.
“Ironically, the recession in the
country is not facing people in the villages. If you go to Kebbi now,
there are about 400 millionaires made from rice, wheat and soya bean
farming,’’ he added.
Besides, Ogbeh said that agricultural
extension workers would soon teach the farmers about how to parboil
rice, while setting a standard for the usage of good-quality rice
seeds.
“The era of soaking rice in a tank
and leaving it overnight is long overdue.
“Rice should not be soaked for more
than three hours in water with a temperature of about 80 degrees
centigrade.
“The rice should also be steamed for
about 30 minutes and dried in a proper place to avoid stones,’’
he said.
The minister said that efforts were
underway to acquire rice reaper machines, used for cutting and
harvesting paddy.
He, however, noted that Nigeria was
currently selling rice to Cameroon, Niger, Chad, Mali and Mauritania.
“All the same, we cannot stop them
from buying our rice; we will rather expand our production,’’ he
added.
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