It is strange Nigeria imports rice – JICA president

The president of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Mr. Shinichi Kitaoka, has said it is strange that the country still imports rice despite its great potential in agriculture. Mr. Kitaoka, who was in the country to inspect some of JICA’s intervention in Nigeria, said,“My first impression when I arrived here is that this is a […]

The president of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Mr. Shinichi Kitaoka, has said it is strange that the country still imports rice despite its great potential in agriculture.
Mr. Kitaoka, who was in the country to inspect some of JICA’s intervention in Nigeria, said,“My first impression when I arrived here is that this is a very green country. Nigeria has a great potential in agriculture, it is quite strange that you are importing rice when you should be exporting especially with this weather.”
The federal government had recently banned the importation of rice through the land borders but is yet to stop the activities of smugglers.
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service had also reportedly said 24.992 metric tonnes of rice valued at N2.34 billion were imported between October 2015 and March 2017 before the ban.
While commenting on the situation, Mr. Kitaoka buttressed the readiness of Japan to help the country in rice production, saying “Japan has much advanced technology and I am hoping that we can do more in this area and in other activities.”