In spite of
selling rice to five countries, Nigeria is aiming to be self-sufficient in rice
production by 2018, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief
Audu Ogbeh, has said.
He noted
that Nigeria was currently selling rice to Cameroon, Niger, Chad, Mali and
Mauritania.
He said that
though the country was not yet self-sufficient in rice production, but could
not stop these countries from buying Nigerian rice.
“We will
rather expand our production,’’ Ogbeh told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
Forum in Abuja and stressed that the government was taking necessary actions to
achieve the target of self-sufficiency.
The
indications of meeting the target, he said, have manifested because many
farmers have 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,’’ he said.
He explained
that people in Thailand do not eat parboiled rice but white rice and so their
parboiled rice 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
said that rice production had improved appreciably, particularly in states such
Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo.
Ogbeh said
that some states in the northern part of the country including Kebbi, Kano,
Jigawa, Sokoto, Katsina and Zamfara were taking due advantage of their dams to
engage in rice production as well.
The minister
said that the Federal Government had just imported 110 rice mills which would
soon be distributed to communities.
Some of the
rice mills could mill 50 tonnes of rice per day.
He said that
the gesture was aimed at boosting the production and income of rice farmers.
“We are
distributing the mills to communities, under a programme called `LIFE’, which
entails taking industries to villages.
“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.
(NAN)
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