Nigerian government would ban importation of rice into country within four years

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Akinwunmi Adesina made the government position known at the opening ceremony of a three -day summit and exhibition, organized by Africa Farming Project (AFP) for northern Nigeria. The minister said the ban would be enforced within the next four years because Nigerian farmers would be producing more than enough rice that could effectively cater for the needs of Nigerians.

Adesina told his audience that the surplus would be sold to other countries, adding that importing food stuff into the country did not speak well of a country like Nigeria.

He added that this was because Nigeria had been featuring prominently in the world market as a result of agriculture boom in the 1960s and the early 1970s.

Annually, Nigeria imports three million metric tons of rice valued at N468 billion ($3 billion) according to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in a report entitled ‘Nigeria rice value chain analysis’ - though the Nigerian Minister of State for Agriculture puts the figure at N350 billion. Whichever way it is, the amount spent on this commodity which has, with time, become a popular Nigerian staple, is huge and unacceptable as we have all it takes to be rice sufficient.