Opportunities in the Bakalori rice and wheat gluts

Wheat and rice farmers in the Bakalori irrigation site in Zamfara State appear to be in a quandary over an unusual occurrence:  massive gluts in the local markets for such produce. As a result, they said they had resorted to selling them off at a huge loss. For any farmer, this can be an exceedingly […]

Wheat and rice farmers in the Bakalori irrigation site in Zamfara State appear to be in a quandary over an unusual occurrence:  massive gluts in the local markets for such produce. As a result, they said they had resorted to selling them off at a huge loss. For any farmer, this can be an exceedingly discouraging turn of fortune.
Surveying their otherwise bountiful harvest, the farmers bitterly complained about their predicament. They expressed disappointment on the price they were offered in the market, describing it as not motivating because they were left at the mercy of local patrons.
One of the farmers said a bag of unshelled rice sold for N4, 300 in the local markets these days and for a farmer not to run at a loss, the price must be higher to cover up the cost of production.
They also complained about the cost of fertilizer. “The price of fertilizer has skyrocketed to N5, 700 and we sell a bag of rice at N4, 000 only. Now, how can we cover the cost of production with these two clearly different prices?” one of them asked.
The irrigation farmers through the chairman of Bakalori Water Users Association, Alhaji Abdullahi Muhammad emphasized the need for better pricing of rice and wheat, especially through the implementation of federal government’s buyback policy to encourage the farmers not to abandon farming for non-agric business.
In his reaction, the project Manager of the irrigation site, Alhaji Muhammad Lawal Maidoki, said Bakalori irrigation site had all that was required to produce substantial rice and wheat for Nigeria’s consumption, adding that the farmers have demonstrated capacity to utilize 20,000 hectares for wheat production alone.
This situation requires immediate government intervention for many reasons, one of which is to stem feelings of despondency among the farmers that the farming profession is fraught with too many risks.
The government should revive its policy of buying surplus harvests and storing for the periods of scarcity and pay farmers at prevailing prices so they lose nothing.
 The National Food Reserve Agency in the Ministry of Agriculture was set up to deal with issues relating to “agricultural production, processing, storage and marketing,” and if farmers are left with surpluses and in a dilemma over how to recover their investments, the agency should be found wanting.
There are grains silos located in different parts of the country, set up by the government for that purpose. What have they been up to?
This apparent neglect of farmers by the government is just one of the ways vital measures are left undone, undermining national development policies.
Nigeria cannot forever rely on other countries to feed its teeming population. Any country worth its independence should be able to feed itself. Food security is the basis of any national pride.
The government should also make the acquisition of mills liberal enough for rice farmers to afford and add value to the produce in the production chain.
As it is, rice and wheat are very important crops that have become almost the staples in Nigerians’ home.
Revising the policy on rice importation would be a good step to encouraging local entrepreneurs and at the same time developing and empowering farming communities and providing employment.  The land is there and the manpower available.
As with the farmers of Bakalori, so it might be with others all over the country. Yearly, or sometimes seasonally, tomatoes and oranges and many other fruits suffer the same glut fate. No system of preserving them for the markets during off-season exists; where this is found, it can gobble up a season’s harvest in one day. Potential investors said such factors make investments in them doubtful. There should be a way out to preserve them for later use. When that is achieved, farmers would feel encouraged to produce more.