The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN)

  • Give attention to other crop value chains, expert urges FG

    Dr Tunde Arosanyin, the National Coordinator, Zero Hunger Commodity Association, has called on the Federal Government to give adequate attention to other crop value chains as it had done in the rice sub-sector.

    Arosanyin made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday.

    He stated that the successes recorded in the rice value chain needed to be replicated in other crops to guarantee sustainable food security in the country.

    The national coordinator said reports reaching him indicated that farmers in other crops were shifting to rice production due to the ‘massive support’ from government in that direction.

    Arosanyin, however, warned that this could lead to scarcity of other staple food commodities such as beans, millet, cassava and maize in the country in the near future.

    Read Also: Farmers affected by flood to get compensation – FG

     

    According to Arosanyin, rice farmers under the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), have enjoyed a lot of support from government that had greatly enhanced local production of the commodity.

    “No doubt, rice production has increased significantly and the country will soon be self-sufficient in its production.

    “This is because government has channeled a lot of efforts and resources into developing the subsector, paying less attention to other crop value chains.

    “We heard that the Federal Government recently approved N60 billion to support local production of rice, and to also crash the market price of the staple ahead of the festive season.

    “This is a good one as consumers will benefit from this gesture.

    “But the low attention given to other value chains may lead to the scarcity of such produce in the coming years, if the situation continues,” he said.

    NAN reports that stakeholders raised the same concern at a national policy dialogue of the Rice Assured Advocacy Forum (RAAF) in Abuja recently.

    But an official of the Federal Ministry Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs Fatimah Aliyu, said the government was also giving adequate attention to other value chains.

    Aliyu, who is the Deputy Director of Rice Value Chain in the ministry, told the participants that government activities in rice production were louder because of the general interest in the commodity.

  • FG sets up special fund to crash cost of local rice

    The Federal Government Thursday disclosed that a special fund has been setup to support rice farmers in order to crash the cost of local rice.

    Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh said the fund will be managed by the Bank of Agriculture and the ministry stressing that the gesture would ensure local rice become cheaper and more competitive compare to the imported ones.

    He spoke during a meeting with Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) and rice millers at his office in Abuja.

    Read Also:Fear of warehouse raid grips rice dealers

    Ogbeh said: “We have been discussing the modalities to put in place to make sure that local rice sells much cheaper and that the prices can fall to the levels of foreign rice and eventually, below the levels of foreign rice.

    “Every country in the world supports agriculture whether they call it subsidy or support, it is exactly the same thing. We are happy that the CBN has agreed to bring down interest rates on agric and manufacturing to one digit.

    “We applaud that decision but at the level of FMARD and BOA, we have set up a fund which we intend to manage to support both the farmers, millers and marketers to bring down the price of rice because we are concerned about the cost of rice for the Nigerian family.”

    The minister added that, “we want our people to feed well and feed cheaply but these things have to be managed carefully because we are dealing with public funds. We are also going to meet in about two weeks and organise rice fair beginning in Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, PH and one or two other cities to showcase the achievements of Nigerian in rice production.”

    According to him, “there are those who do not believe that Nigerian rice exist but we know they do and we are very proud of the millers for their tenacity, investments and pains they have gone through in the last few years in trying to respond to a national call.”

    He applauded RIFAN for their commitment towards ensuring the country achieves self-sufficiency in rice production.

    “I want to convey to you the appreciation of not only the President but also the Vice President; a nation does not thrive at an import bill of food of $22 billion a year. We just can’t manage it and I want this message to reach those who keep thinking that importation is the answer, we don’t have the money, we want to create jobs so those of you investing in these sectors, we are very proud of you and we want to thank you very much,” he added.

    The Minister reacted to flooded farm lands saying that agriculture research institutes in the country would be tasked to produce flood resistant rice varieties to check deficits in rice production.

    “In two weeks’ time when we meet, between the BOA and the millers, we will put in place a strategy to support rice milling so we can see what we can do for lower prices at Christmas so two weeks’ time, a letter will be sent to you by the director agribiz and also talk with the CBN but be sure that we want you to succeed, to be rich, to make a success like other countries have done but one day, we want foreign rice to be a very rare commodity in this country,” he stated.

    On smuggling, the Minister explained that President Muhammadu Buhari met with the President of Benin Republic and there were discussions towards reducing the scourge.

    He assured that a permanent solution would be provided soon.

  • Oyo: Rice farmers receive inputs worth N17.8m – CBN

    Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria ( RIFAN ) in Oyo State says it has received farm inputs worth N17.8 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) through the Bank of Agriculture ( BOA ).

    The state Chairman of RIFAN, Mr Victor Korede, said this in an interview with newsmen on Monday in Ibadan.

    He said that no fewer than 59 rice farmers had received farm inputs for dry season farming, while about 100 rice farmers were similarly expected to get inputs for wet season farming.

    “The inputs include water pumps with accessories, two bags of NPK and Urea fertilisers each, ten litres of pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides and two sachets of organic fertiliser to replenish the soil.

    “Other services include farm mapping, extension services and aggregation of harvested produce and insurance by Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Company ( NAIC ).

    “The RIFAN/CBN model is a strategic partnership between the CBN and RIFAN to increase domestic rice production, in support of the Federal Government’s agenda to ban rice importation in 2018.

    Read Also: Emergency: FG handover facility to Oyo govt

    “The partnership came right on time, as it will surely boost our protection and make our members to sell their produce in a profitable and ready market,” he said.

    Korede also noted that the scheme would enhance the ability of the farmers to engage in dry-season and wet-season rice cultivation.

    He urged the beneficiaries to resist the temptation of selling the products, saying that they should use the facilities judiciously so as to enable them to enjoy other agricultural development programmes of the Federal Government.

    He pledged the readiness of the rice farmers to increase rice production in the state.

    NAN

  • Distribution of inputs to 9,500 rice farmers begins in Sokoto

    Distribution of inputs to 9,500 rice farmers begins in Sokoto

    The Distribution of farming inputs to rice farmers by the Federal Government has commenced in Gwadabawa Local Government area of Sokoto State.

    The Newsmen reports that the distribution commenced on March 8 with identification and screening of the farmers.

    Each of the 9, 500 rice farmers across the state would receive N277, 000 per hectare as well as water pumping machine and accessories, sprayer and accessories, two bags of NPK and Urea fertilizer.

    Other inputs included two litres of herbicide, liquid fertilizer and 25 Kg of rice seeds.

    Alhaji Ibrahim Salihu, the Chairman, Sokoto state chapter of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria ( RIFAN ) called on Federal Government to open additional collection centres to cover all the 23 local government areas in the state.

    Salihu, told NAN at the distribution centre in Gwadabawa that expansion of distribution centres from the current four would ease transportation challenges and fast track the distribution process.

    Currently, each of the collection centres has farmers assembled from five local government areas.

    The Chairman said officials of Bank of Agriculture, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation and RIFAN were involved in the distribution process.

    He said that inputs suppliers and service providers were also involved in educating the farmers on right quality and quantity of inputs to be applied on their farms.

    Salihu explained that the beneficiaries were to pay N2, 000 for refundable bank account opening, N500 for Identity cards and N500 for RIFAN membership.

    He explained that the repayment of loan was scheduled in three instalments of 30 percent with paddy rice, 30 percent during wet season and last 30 percent at the end of all the processes.

    The chairman said certified seeds input suppliers would bear responsibility on any lapse recorded due to poor quality seeds.

    In a separate interview, the Manager, Sokoto branch of BOA, Alhaji Aliyu Hadeja, urged farmers to utilize the inputs properly and cautioned them against selling them for personal gains.

    Hadeja expressed satisfaction with the ongoing distribution processes, stressing that all challenges would be addressed as they arise.

    Some of the beneficiaries expressed appreciation over the support and pledged to utilize the inputs to increase their yields.

    The farmers commended the federal government for the support, saying it would enhance their livelihood and boost food production.

    Newsmen  report that distribution would also be conducted in Sokoto, Goronyo and Tambuwal Local Government Areas.

     NAN

  • CBN spends N55bn to improve local food production

    CBN spends N55bn to improve local food production

    The Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ), says it has disbursed N55 billion to more than 250,000 farmers within two years of implementation of the Anchor Borrowers Programme ( ABP ).

    The Acting-Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Isaac Okorafor confirmed the figure on Wednesday in Abuja during a media briefing on the implementation of the programme.

    The ABP was launched in Kebbi State on Nov. 17, 2015, by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    It was designed to create economic linkages between farmers and processors, not only to ensure increased agricultural output of rice and wheat, but also close the gap between production and consumption.

    Okorafor was accompanied to the briefing by the Special Adviser to the CBN Governor, Mr Olatunde Akande, and top executive of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria ( RIFAN ) led by its President, Alh. Aminu Gorongo.

    Okorafor said that out of the N55 billion provided by the apex bank to farmers, 80 per cent of the amount, N44 billion was given to rice farmers alone.

    He said the need to provide rice farmers adequate funding was to ensure self sufficiency in rice production and to also ensure that Nigeria becomes a net exporter of the product.

    “It goes to underscore the effectiveness and efficiency that the CBN has put into this programme.

    “We have assisted about 250,000 farmers across Nigeria to cultivate close to 300,000 hectares of farmlands and you can see the impact on the streets’’ he said.

    In his remarks, the RIFAN president Gorongo said that the association was partnering with the CBN to increase rice production by two million tonnes in 2018.

    He said under the new ABP partnership between the CBN and RIFAN, 200,000 farmers would be given fresh funds to plant rice in the dry season farming.

    According to him, another 500,000 rice farmers would also be mobilised during the wet season farming.

    Gorongo said that through the funding, the farmers would be able to employ a total of five million people to work on rice production value chain during the period.

    He said so far, farmers in about 34 states were presently under the new ABP with RIFAN.

    “We have started collaboration with the CBN to have a private sector driven ABP, which means that under this new agreement, the state governments are not involved.

    “We have launched this programme to put this country on the right part, especially in the area of agri-business.’’

    Also speaking, Akande, the Special Assistant to the CBN Governor on Development Finance, said the ABP had been digitised to keep account of the activities of all the farmers involved.

    According to him, under the new agreement with RIFAN, each farmer’s identity, home address, farm location and other vital information has been captured and each farmer is given a biometric card.

    He said the new system would help resolve the issue of delay in payments to farmers and also the recoupment of funds borrowed out by the CBN.

    “We have successfully digitally mapped all the farmers that are participating in the projects. This makes the new programme reliable, accessible and verifiable.

    “The digitisation will ensure that no farmer will collect payment and refuse to pay. So loan repayment is guaranteed.

    “Also, in the new agreement, RIFAN will provide training, and ensure that whatever is given to the farmers are well utilised.

    “Depending on the season and the crop which is being cultivated, each farmer will get a support of about N250, 000 per hectare,’’ he said.

    NAN

  • Kano moves to recover N900m loans from rice farmers

    Kano moves to recover N900m loans from rice farmers

    The Kano State Government has set up a nine-man committee to recover over N900 million given as loans to rice farmers  under the Anchor Borrower Programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN).

    Prof.  Mahmoud Daneji, the Managing Director of the state Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (KNARDA), disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Saturday.

    He said members of the committee included   representatives  of the CBN,  Bank of Agriculture(BOA)  and Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN).

    Daneji said the committee was expected to visit the defaulting farmers in all the 44 local government areas of the state with a view to ensuring that they pay  the loan within the stipulated period.

    According to him, the defaulting farmers have  been given up to the end of this harvesting  season to pay the loans or face prosecution.

    “The farmers have up to the end of  the harvesting season to pay the loans or else the government will go ahead to recover the loans through  legal means,” Daneji said.

    He lamented that a total of N906 million was disbursed to the rice farmers in the state but regretted that not up to N6 million was recovered.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls  that  the state chapter of  All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) recently  constituted  a similar committee with a view to recovering the loans.

  • RIFAN seeks collaboration with African countries on rice production

    RIFAN seeks collaboration with African countries on rice production

    The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) says it is seeking collaboration with Competitive African Rice Initiative (CARI) and other African countries to increase rice production and export within the continent.

    CARI is to significantly improve the livelihoods of rice farmers in selected countries in the sub-region by increasing the competitiveness of domestic rice supply.

    CARI is implemented in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania with the aim of reaching 120,000 African rice producers.

    The direct beneficiaries of this project are male and female smallholder rice farmers with a daily income below 2 US$.

    Secondary beneficiaries are rural service providers and rice millers improving their sourcing capacity of quality supply.

    Malam Sadiq Daware, National Treasurer, RIFAN, said in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday, that the association had also finalised talk with Ghana, Burkina Faso and Tanzania.

    RIFAN official said that it had become imperative to forge a crucial partnership with the countries to drive the rice value chain.

    He said the CARI officials had met with RIFAN to form Nigerian Rice Advocacy platform, where all the actors in the rice value chain would collaborate to increase rice production and export.

    “The platform has been established in the 36 states and FCT and the entire representative have elected their leadership.

    “The platform recognises the important role rice plays as a major staple food in the region, and the potential for widespread and positive socioeconomic impact through the development of a strong regional rice value chain,’’ he said.

    Daware also said the primary objectives of CARI was to promote cooperation among regional and national rice bodies, ease cross border trade and strengthen existing national rice value chain platforms.

    According to him, it is also to support the creation of such platforms, where they do not yet exist.

    He said under the CARI agreement, stakeholders would also promote research and analysis and exchange best practices and creating adequate awareness of its activities among farmers.

    Daware disclosed that by August, several rice stakeholders across Africa would converge in Abuja to further discuss rice research, development, production and policy.

    He said the meeting would consolidate on production of enough rice to cover the needs of consumers.

    Daware also said it deliberate on how to add value and allow rice export to other West African countries to enable it compete favourably with rice from Thailand and India.

    He said consolidation in CARI remained a major focus because rice consumption in Africa had reached over 11.8 million tonnes yearly and not less than 3.3 million tonnes imported within the same period.

    The RIFAN national treasurer, however, said 21 of the 39 rice producing countries in Africa imported between 50 and 99 per cent of their rice requirements.

    Daware said that various challenges confronting rice importation include inadequate development and availability of improved post-harvest processing technologies and value addition and lack of access to credit by farmers, traders and processors.

    These challenges, he said had led to low yields in rice production and limiting the rice sector development in the country.

    He, however, assured that at the end of the meeting, the initiative would impact over 2 million rice farmers and solve all the perennial rice production, processing and marketing problems.

    Daware commended the Buhari-led administration for its various initiatives leading to significant boost in rice production.

    “Annual rice production in Nigeria has increased from 5.5 million tonnes in 2015 to 5.8 million tonnes in 2017.

    “The consumption rate now is 7.9 million tonnes and the production rate has increased to 5.8 tonnes per annum,’’ he said.

    “Spending had drastically reduced, consumption and increased because of increased local production of the commodity.

    He said that the increase was as a result of the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) with a total of 12 million rice producers and 4 million hectares of FADAMA rice land.

    Daware also commended the Nigeria Customs Service for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with RIFAN to fight rice smuggling of rice through, land border, into the country.

  • Customs, rice farmers sign MoU to stop rice smuggling

    Customs, rice farmers sign MoU to stop rice smuggling

    The Nigeria Customs Service and the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to stop rice smuggling through land border into the country.

    Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, President Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), disclosed this on Wednesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    He said even though the importation of rice through the land borders was banned since April 2016 with an extension to the restriction of rice into the Nigerian market from the Export Processing Zones (EPZ), yet smugglers still engaged in the unwholesome act.

    Goronyo warned Nigerians against the consumption of foreign rice, saying that most of the imported rice is stale and only meant for animal and fish feeds.

    He said result of test by NAFDAC through some samples of some of the rice seizures had ascertained that smuggled rice through the land borders was unfit for human consumption.
    “99 per cent of rice smuggled through the land borders are not fit for human consumption,” he said.

    Goronyo said that the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd), reiterated recently at a joint meeting with RIFAN and Customs that rice importation remain banned through the land borders.

    The RIFAN President said to ensure effective monitoring of the land borders, the Comptroller-General has approved a 12-man implementation committee to be headed by Assistant Comptroller-General, Alino Dangaladima.

    He said Customs promised to continue to ensure the restriction of rice import through the land borders to boost local production.

    He said that the Comptroller-General agreed that there was need for total ban on rice importation and effective monitoring of the land borders to stop the activities of the smugglers.

    The RIFAN president added that the customs boss reinstated that any attempt to import rice through the land borders would be resisted, saying the position remain unchanged.

    He said the customs told them that it had deployed more officers and men to borders to enforce the order.

    According to him, customs had also re-organised its anti-smuggling patrols to provide additional capability, to enforce the ban of rice import through the land borders.

    Goronyo said that the committee would be replicated at the state level to be headed by all state chairmen of RIFAN and its members would serve in the committee to be headed by the state comptroller of customs.

    He said the enforcement has become imperative because the ongoing Rice Revolution undertaken by many state governments, and Strategic Interventions by the Federal Government Agencies was a step toward self sufficiency.

    According to Goronyo, if adequate measure is not taken to stop the activities of the smugglers, it would have adverse effects on the bumper harvests expected from the rice revolution.

    The RIFAN President commended the customs officials for taking the giant stride to reinstate the confidence of the RIFAN and assuring the farmers of adequate markets for their products.

    He said that the rice that is coming into the country was very huge and not quantifiable, but because Nigeria has a big market one could not see the effect immediately, but gradually the local production would suffer for it.

    Goronyo said that the annual rice production in Nigeria has increased from 5.5 million tonnes in 2015 to 5.8 million tonnes in 2017.

    He said that in 2015, Nigerians spent not less than N1 billion daily on rice consumption, adding that while spending had drastically reduced, consumption had increased because of increased local production of the commodity.
    “The consumption rate now is 7.9 million tonnes, while the production rate is 5.8 tonnes per annum,’’ he said.

  • Kebbi: 78,000 rice farmers benefit from CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme – RIFAN

    Kebbi: 78,000 rice farmers benefit from CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme – RIFAN

    At least 78,000 rice farmers in Kebbi State have benefitted from the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP), an official of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) in the state has said.

    Chairman of RIFAN in the state, Alhaji Mohamed Sahabi, told newsmen in Birnin-Kebbi on Sunday that rice farmers were given loans and other inputs such as fertiliser, pesticides, seeds, and water pumps for irrigation.

    Sahabi lauded the programme, saying it had helped farmers earn profit and increase rice production in the state.

    He explained that 5,000 farmers attached to Labana Rice Mills, an indigenous rice milling company in the state benefitted from the programme.

    The chairman said that another batch of 26,000 rice farmers in the state had also been short-listed to be given loans to assist them in rice production.

    Sahabi said that some rice farmers in the state have also commenced repayment of the ABP loans they collected.

    “The current support for farmers in the country is the Anchor Borrowers Programme which came into function in 2015.

    “This programme has helped rice farmers in Kebbi to earn a better living.’’

    The chairman said rice farmers were faced with the challenge of accessing their farm lands especially during the rainy season.

    Sahabi appealed to the state government to construct feeder roads that would guarantee access to farms and effective transportation of goods to the markets.

    “We want access roads to our farms so that we will be able to transport our produce to the markets.

    “The African Development Bank is doing something about it but we want the government to also come in.’’

    The ABP was launched in 2015 to create economic linkages between over 600,000 smallholder farmers and reputable large-scale processors with a view to increasing agricultural output and significantly improving capacity utilisation of integrated mills.

  • Daura LGA: Farmers register for Anchor Borrow agricultural loan

    Daura LGA: Farmers register for Anchor Borrow agricultural loan

    The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Daura Local Government chapter of Katsina State, says 1,600 farmers registered for the Anchor Borrowers agricultural loan scheme of the Federal Government in the area.

    Alhaji Nura Baure, the local government RIFAN chairman, said that the programme was aimed at producing rice in commercial quantity, adding that “Daura is blessed with thousands of hectares of arable fadama land suitable for irrigation.’’

    He said the farmers would be provided with fertilizer, insecticides, water pumping machines and cash.

    He said that there were two categories of farmers who were expected to benefit from the loan; and listed them as individual, large or small scale farmers.

    Baure, called on the farmers to make judicious use of the loan and warned them against diverting the loan to other wasteful ventures.

    According to him, disbursement of the loan is expected to start by next week through the authorised banks.

    Baure however said that registration of interested farmers was still ongoing, and called on the people of the area, especially the youth to embrace the programme.