Nigeria has no alternative to rice importation – Farmer

However, he observed that Nigerian farmers are not set to provide the rice needed for local consumption.Alhaji Bakyasuwa said Nigerians are used to eating parboiled and long grain rice that cannot be easily grown here, adding: “For Nigerian farmers to successfully grow long grain and parboiled rice in this country, there is the need to […]

However, he observed that Nigerian farmers are not set to provide the rice needed for local consumption.
Alhaji Bakyasuwa said Nigerians are used to eating parboiled and long grain rice that cannot be easily grown here, adding: “For Nigerian farmers to successfully grow long grain and parboiled rice in this country, there is the need to first of all carry out soil research with a view to identifying a suitable land for that kind of rice to grow.
“You also have to source for the right seed, the desired fertilizer and you must use the required quantity before we talk of using the desired mill. One must provide all the necessary machines ranging from tractor, harvesters and many others. For us to be able to feed this country with rice we must go into mass production and that means more money, real money. Where will that come from?
“In summary, we require a lot of money to conduct a lot of researches to be able to go into mass production of parboil and long grain rice. We need a lot of money to buy equipment for rice production. We require a lot of money to buy industrial mills and also to empower the farmers to go into mass production of rice.”
Alhaji Bakyasuwa said despite federal government’s support to rice farmers in the country, the main problem militating against mass production of rice is yet to be addressed and until researchers are mobilized to carry out thorough research and their reports and recommendations are implemented, government may not get it right.
A researcher on rice with the National Cereal Research Institute in Badeggi, Niger state, Dr Alhassan Maji said in a paper he presented at the institute on agricultural biotechnology titled, “Challenges of rice breeding in Nigeria,” lamented that though 5.7 million metric tonnes of rice is required for domestic consumption, Nigerian farmers can only be able to produce about 3.2 million metric tonnes in 2014.a