The Federal Government has been urged to have a re-think on the plan to ban rice importation into the country as from 2015.
The Managing Director, Attajiri Rice Mill Sokoto, Alhaji Nura
Attajiri, gave the advice yesterday, saying the plan is not
feasible, as local production by farmers cannot meet the demand for the
commodity. Speaking during an interview with THISDAY in Sokoto, Attajiri
maintained that the proposed ban on importation of rice in 2015 would be
counter productive, pointing out that local production of rice was low
in the country.
According to him, out of the 50 million metric tonnes of rice being
consumed in the country annually, 21 million was imported from China,
India and Thailand.
Attajiri, who is a large scale rice farmer and an industrialist,
emphasised that banning rice importation in 2015 would make
lifedifficult for Nigerians due to inadequate production of the
commodity by local farmers.
“As a large scale rice farmer that has been in the business since 1983
and also engaged in irrigation farming all year round, I know the
negative effects of importation of rice on the economy. But the truth of
the matter is that banning importation of rice in 2015 without
commensurate local production would be counter productive.
“Most of the people that collect agricultural loans from government for
paddy rice production are not genuine farmers. I strongly believe that
it will take some time for Nigerian farmers to meet local demand and
this can be achieved only if government is determined to put in
mechanisms to ensure that only genuine farmers are empowered,” he said.
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