Federal Goverment To Have A Rethink On Ban Of Importation Of Rice

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.