I want to venture into rice farming – Cocoa farmer

A foremost stakeholder in the Nigerian cocoa value chain has said that he will venture into rice farming to boost domestic rice production so as to ensure self-sufficiency and export to other countries. Dropping the hint recently in an exclusive interview with Daily Trust in Abuja, the President, Federation of Agricultural Commodities Association of Nigeria […]

A foremost stakeholder in the Nigerian cocoa value chain has said that he will venture into rice farming to boost domestic rice production so as to ensure self-sufficiency and export to other countries.
Dropping the hint recently in an exclusive interview with Daily Trust in Abuja, the President, Federation of Agricultural Commodities Association of Nigeria (FACAN), Dr. Victor Iyama, said the move was also targeted at halting rice importation which is frittering away the country’s foreign exchange.
“I am majorly into cocoa, plantain and oil palm farming, but I now want to go into rice farming because it has short gestation period. And of course, you know we all are talking about rice farming because rice is our staple food and we are spending much money on its importation,” Dr. Iyama told our reporter.
He added: “You know we are all looking at exporting rice to other countries in the next five years. So, that is why I also want to venture into that area now.”
The FACAN President lamented that there were over 25 agricultural commodities that Nigeria could export but the country was just exporting a few and thereby not earning the desired foreign exchange.
Against the backdrop of the rejection of Nigeria’s agricultural products by the European (EU), among others, Dr. Iyama called on the government and other stakeholders to step up action in the development of the country’s agricultural commodities in order to meet up international standards, so as to be accepted by buyers across the world.