The Federal Government has announced its resolve to ensure that no grain of rice consumed in Nigeria is imported.
According to the government, it has set a target of self-sufficiency in rice production. It said that the country would soon overcome the challenges of rice production as it did with maize.
Speaking on behalf of the Federal Government after a meeting with rice importers, millers and dealers in Abuja, the Chairman, Presidential Task Force on Trade Malpractices, Mr. Dahiru Ado-Kurawa, maintained that the policy to stop rice importation was for the benefit of Nigerians.
He said, “I want to seize this opportunity to assure Nigerians that the same effort that was placed to stop the importation of foreign maize will be applied in this case by this government. This is to ensure that no single grain of rice consumed in Nigeria is planted by any other country other than Nigeria.”
He explained that the Federal Government’s policies on rice importation were to stop the continued importation of the product.
Ado-Kurawa said, “Our target is to have self-sufficiency in rice in Nigeria and I believe we can achieve the target. If you recollect, 20 years to 30 years ago, Nigeria was an importer of maize but everybody here now eats or takes pap made from the Nigerian maize.
“So, as a country, we’ve come a long way and we’ve seen so many imported products that have been replaced by local production.”
The Chairman, Rice Importers, Millers and Dealers Association, Mr. Tunji Owoeye, said it was time for Nigerian farmers to make good revenue from the sale of rice, instead of losing revenue as a result of the activities of smugglers of the product.
He said, “They have been taking advantage of the disconnect in our policies to exploit Nigeria by shipping quite a lot of parboiled rice into Benin Republic and Cameron destined for Nigeria.
“Government has seen this and is reviewing it and will address it in its policies. This is going to encourage our farmers and investors in the business.”
On the amount lost to rice smuggling, Owoeye said, “It is estimated that almost $1bn is lost every day.”PUNCH
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