The Nation Newspaper

Tag: rice

  • Edo Govt registers 50,000 farmers for CBN loan

    Edo Govt registers 50,000 farmers for CBN loan

    The Edo Government has screened and registered no fewer than 50,000 farmers for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) loan in the 2016 cropping season.

    Mr Abubakar Sule, Edo North Zonal Manager, Edo Agricultural Development Programme (EADP), made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Auchi on Friday.

    Sule said that of the 50,000 farmers, 25,000 were from Edo South, 10,000, Edo Central, while 15,000 were from Edo North.

    He said the CBN loan was being facilitated by the state government, adding that the individual farmers needed to belong to a cooperative society to be a beneficiary.

    He said that farmers, who grow Maize, Rice, Cassava, Oil Palm and livestock farmers such as poultry, piggery and fishery would benefit from the facility.

    Sule said that the gesture was the state government’s way of assisting farmers to boost the cultivation of food production in the state.

    He said the state government had trained its extension service workers on how to guide the farmers to reduce risk and enhance farm yields.

    He said that EADP would ensure that farmers had access to variety of seeds and other high yielding inputs to enhance production.

  • ‘Rice smuggling is affecting economy’

    Stakeholders  have decried the high rate of rice smuggling, saying it is having downside effects on the  economy.

    The Federal Government, they said, was losing revenue because of this and called for increased survelliance to address the problem.

    In an interview with The Nation, Executive Director, Nigeria Agriculture Development Watch, Johnson Idowu, said the development has resulted in loss of revenues and jobs at the nation’s seaports  in recent times, while neighbouring countries, such as Niger, Benin Republic, and Cameroon through which the criminal activity is perpetrated are better for it.

    He said the only reason there is increased rice importation in these countries is because they have favourable tariff and policy for rice importation.

    He said the countries are not rice producers, and must be investigated to unravel the secret behind the smuggling of the produce into Nigeria.

    Coordinator of Nigeria Agribusiness Group, Emmanuel Ijewere, said the story of  smuggling of rice in Nigeria is historical because it has been going on for a very long time and has destroyed the country’s industries.

    “Because it has destroyed our local industries and the kind of story we are hearing now that the business of smuggling of rice has increased is a bad omen and to the Nigeria customs in particular. Should we destroy our industries and provide job for our neighbouring countries or provide job for our own people in Nigeria?’’ he asked.

  • Rice-for-child swap on the rice (sorry, rise)

    The old line in the mid-80s was a-rice o compatriots! Then essential commodities, most notably, rice was so scarce that each time Nigerians heard the word rise, in any conversation, speech or even the national anthem, they would come to attention, if only to find out the next location for the rationed sale of rice.

    There was a famous cartoon in one national newspaper of that era, which depicted guests apparently at a seminar snoring away even as the speaker pranced and puffed, presenting his speech. The great moment came when the speaker said: “In conclusion, all these would give rise…” and pronto, the snoozing audience came alive exclaiming: “Rice? Did he just say rice?! Where?!”

    Today, Nigeria’s rice conundrum has shifted another gear and downhill it seems to throttle. Two grievous incidents happened last week to buttress this point.

    Inside Government House, Borno State, Northeast of Nigeria, there was a near-fatal shootout as policemen and soldiers struggled over control of bags of rice meant for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Also in Borno, some officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) were apprehended attempting to re-bag rice meant for IDPs with a view to diverting them.

    But all these would be mild drama compared to the event last Sunday at Singer Market, Fagge Local Government Area of Kano State. A man identified as Mallam Yusuf Bala procured a bag of rice from Alhaji Suleiman Bagudu, a rice dealer in the market and reportedly left his five-year-old son at the rice dealer’s. He had promised to dash home for some more money to make payment. He never returned for his boy.

    When he was traced to his residence, he confessed he was impoverished, thus had to devise such a means to find sustenance for his family. This trick is not novel by any means. A woman had played it out quite successfully in Akure, Ondo State recently.

    With the strictures at the land borders to curb rice importation and attendant massive smuggling, it has become apparent that Nigeria, the giant of Africa boasting of a population of over 170 million, can hardly produce one tenth of her most important staple food. The prices of the imported commodity have continued to skyrocket, almost jumping out of the reach of the common man. A 50 kg bag, which sold for a little below N10, 000 about a year ago, has almost double, depending on the city you are.

    One worries that so much hoopla has been made about local production of rice; in fact, the last government had claimed it was going to achieve local sufficiency by 2015. Yet hardly can local rice be found in any significant quantity in any part of the country. So much for diversification of the economy, food security and the rediscovery of Nigeria’s rice belt, which had been the buzz phrases in the past few years?

    We knew about crude oil swap deals; now we have rice for child swaps; what next?

  • 13 states to produce rice next 18 months, says Buhari

    13 states to produce rice next 18 months, says Buhari

    Buhari: I don’t believe in naira devaluation

    president Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said 13 states can produce rice to feed the country in the next 18 months.

    Buhari spoke during the breaking of fast dinner he held for the business community.

    Despite the ongoing implementation of the flexible policy which has systematically devalued the nation’s currency, Buhari said he not see any benefit that the country can derive from devaluation of the naira.

    He said: “How much benefit have we derived from naira devaluation in the past. I don’t like the returns I get from the CBN because that coupled with the demand that let us devalue the naria; in August 1985 when the naria was N1.3 to a dollar now you need N300 or N350 to a dollar.

    “What do we derive from that, how much benefit can we derive from this ruthless devaluation of the naira. I’m not an economist neither a businessman. I fail to appreciate what is the economic explanation.

    “What has happen to us know is that we have maneuvered ourselves into mono economy which means which led to the collapse we are seeing now. A lot of responsibilities now fall on your shoulders now. You have a lot of investments, a lot of people you employ.”

    Chairman of Unilever, Kola Jamodu, pledged the support of the group to Buhari’s administration.

    He said: “We are with you as you strive to reposion the Nigerian economy. We are very much in support of your move to diversify the economy. I have the mandate of the group that we will give you all the support because if the economy is in disarray, the private sector cannot survive.”

    Among those who attended the dinner are Aliko Dangote, Tony Elumelu, Femi Otedola, Wale Tinubu, Jim Ovia, Umar Mutalab, Folorunsho Alakija and Kemi Nelson.

     

  • The race for huge rice farms

    The race for huge rice farms

    In collaboration with the private sector, some states are investing in local rice production. According to experts, this strategic move will create jobs, reduce poverty and fast-track the Federal Government’s self-sufficiency plan for rice, if smuggling and policy inconsistency, among others, are addressed. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

    A subtle battle for the control of the rice segment of the agriculture sector is raging among some states in the country. From the Southwestern states of Lagos and Ogun to Ebonyi, Anambra and Enugu in the Southeast; the Middle Belt and Northern states of Kebbi, Benue, Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Niger and Taraba, among others, a state-led push to boost rice production, processing and distribution has taken centre stage.

    For instance, the push by each state, in collaboration with private sector investors, to position itself as the number one rice producer, has seen Lagos and Kebbi states set ambitious targets of meeting 70 per cent of Nigeria’s rice needs.

    This is on the strength of a recent strategic partnership that culminated in both states signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to leverage their areas of comparative advantage to develop the rice value chain.

    The MoU, ratified by Governors Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos and Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, hopes to end the era of imported rice. “…we have the economic prowess to produce rice locally. The era of imported rice is gone,” Ambode said in Lagos, at the signing ceremony.

    Nigeria, Africa’s largest  rice consumer, consumes about six million metric tons of rice annually, and spends an estimated N360 billion yearly on the importation of the product. This translates to an average of N1 billion per day. While half of the volume is imported mostly from India, Thailand, and Brazil, about 2.8 million metric tons is produced locally. The country, however, targets a total rice import replacement by 2018.

    The Lagos/Kebbi partnership, as well as interventions by other states, may have raised hopes of achieving this target. For instance, highlighting the Lagos’ areas of strength, Ambode said it is the largest consumer of food commodities in Nigeria, by virtue of its population, estimated at 21 million.

    He said Lagos State has an estimated consumption of over 798,000 metric tonnes of milled rice per year, which is an equivalent of 15.96 million of 50kg bags, with a value of N135 billion per annum. It also has the market, with the required purchasing power.

    To engage youths and boost rice production, 100 farmers have been settled on the 500 hectares of land acquired in Eggua, Ogun State through the FADAMA III additional financing programme. The Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Toyin Suarau, who made this known at a press briefing last week to commemorate Ambode’s first year in office, said through this arrangement, rice cultivation had improved.

    “The yield has improved from less than one tonne per hectare to about three tonnes per hectare with double cropping in some areas where irrigation facilities are provided. The state government is also poised to expand its rice mill at Imota from 2.5 metric tonnes per hour to 10 metric tonnes per hour, while at the same time encouraging private sector operators to invest in rice processing,” Suarau said.

    On the other hand, Kebbi State boasts of a vast arable land suitable for the cultivation of rice. It is an agrarian state with over 1.2 million hectares of arable land characterised by very large floodplains, lowland swamps and gentle slopes. In the 2014/2015 wet season, over 600, 000 hectares of land were deployed for rice cultivation in the three senatorial areas of the state.

    Kebbi people are also traditionally rice farmers with average land holding of about 10 hectares. Presently, Kebbi has over 50,000 metric tonnes of paddy in store produced from the last two planting seasons.

    “What we are doing is to pioneer a collaboration that will bring other states on board later as we believe that our potentials are enormous and we must have pacesetters to start that process of joint collaboration for our collective good,” Governor Bagudu said.

     

    Anambra, Ebonyi also involved

    Ebonyi and Anambra states appear determined to give Lagos and Kebbi a run for their investments. The Southeast states, as part of their plan for life without oil, are investing in rice production.

    For instance, Anambra State has projected an increase in the volume of rice production from the present 80,000 metric tons to 400,000.

    To achieve this, the state has begun the distribution of 120,000 metric tons of high-yielding rice species to farmers for this year’s planting season through their various cooperative societies. This, according to Governor Willie Obiano, will  give the state over 300,000 metric tons of rice at harvest time.

    The target is coming on the heels of the inauguration of a multi-billion naira farm project in partnership with the Coscharis Group at Anaku town in Ayamelum Local Government Area of the state. The state government, The Nation learnt, has committed N300 million to the partnership.

    The project, known as the Coched Farms Project, is a joint venture between the state government and the Coscharis Group. It is expected to lead to the cultivation of 2,500 hectares of rice per season and a production capacity of 12,000 metric tons per annum in the first phase.

    Obiano said the project will generate about 1,000 full-time and seasonal jobs for youths and women across the entire rice value chain.

    The farm is expected to produce 8,000 to 12,000 metric tons of paddy per annum with an expected income of N400 million to N600 million per annum when fully developed. At an estimated market value of N140,000 per metric ton of processed rice, the expected income will be between N784 million to N1.176 billion per annum when the production and processing infrastructure are fully developed.

    “These estimates fall nicely into my campaign promise to ‘Ndi Anambra’ that we shall drive development through agriculture to create jobs, boost our domestic economy and shore up the revenue profile of the state,” Obiano said.

    According to Maduka, the project at full operation would provide 500 direct jobs and 2, 000 indirect jobs and would extend to other parts of the state. He said in addition to the rice farm, the project also had a rice mill of 20 tons per hour capacity that would provide services to local farmers.

    With what the state has done in the rice sector so far, Obiano is optimistic that in few months time, the state would not only have enough rice for domestic consumption, but  export the product. He hinged his optimism on the existence of a cluster of investors in the state for rice production.

    Similarly,  Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State recently ordered the disbursement of N1 billion to rice farmers as a revolving loan.  He said the money would not be given to the farmers in cash, but as seedlings, fertilisers, and pesticides among other facilities.

    The governor, who made this known at a special stakeholder’s forum on rice production in Abakaliki, the state capital, said the money was borrowed  from the Federal Government, and will be deducted from the state’s monthly allocation .

    To underscore the state’s determination to be a major player in the rice business, the state government went a notch higher, compelling each public office holder in the state to cultivate at least five hectares of rice this 2016 farming season. The public office holders include state executive council members, local government area caretaker chairmen, coordinators of development centres, and council liaison officers, among others.

    “We have so far acquired 54, 000 hectares for massive rice cultivation and more are expected to ensure the attainment of the rice production goal”, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. Uchenna Orji, said.

     

    Edo, Jigawa, Kwara, Niger, others intensify push

    Anambra State is not the only state riding on the support of private sector investors to claim the number one spot in the rice business. Edo State has also opened its doors to the Stallion Group for investment in rice production. The group recently stormed Government House, Benin, the Edo State capital, to indicate its interest to invest in rice farming.

    The Business Development Manager, Stallion Group, Mr. Sunil Dhermappa, said the firm has the largest capacity of rice mills in sub-Saharan Africa, with factories at strategic locations in Lagos and Kano to enhance prospects of processing local paddy and with capacity of four million bags per annum.

    Interestingly, Edo State is also one of the five states across the country where foremost industrialist and President, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Alhaji Aliko Dangote, is investing $1 billion (about N165 billion) in rice production and processing. Others are Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara, and Niger states. A total of 150, 000 hectares of farmland had been acquired in these five states for the project.

    Expected to become the largest single investment ever made in rice production in Africa, the project, according to the MoU DIL signed with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), also involves establishment of two state-of-the-art large-scale rice mills with a capacity to mill 120,000 metric tons of rice paddy each.

    This brings the total capacity to 240,000 metric tons, with plans to double the capacity within two years. The rice plant is estimated to produce 960, 000 metric tons of milled rice, representing 46 per cent of rice imported into Nigeria. “Our goal of making Nigeria a net exporter of rice will be achieved faster by this significant investment,” Dangote said. That was last year when the deal was consummated.

    As an integrated operation, the Dangote farms and the mills are expected to significantly boost smallholder rice production in the regions through a nucleus and out-grower farming model, thereby transforming livelihoods in rural Nigeria. Also, the selected sites are rice-growing communities and they will be supported by Dangote’s provision of agro-inputs, training, and marketing linkages in order to improve community farming operations. Employment opportunities will also be created for at least 8, 000 Nigerians.

     

    Smuggling, policy inconsistency, others are threats

    Heart-warming as the state’s involvement in rice production is, there are formidable hurdles, one of which is the nation’s numerous porous borders through which rice smuggling thrives.

    According to experts, cross-border smuggling, particularly via the Cotonou Port, remains one of the greatest huddles before local rice producers and this may frustrate the current move by state governments to take advantage of the sector to diversify their economies.

    Smuggled rice often finds its way into various communities and towns in Nigeria through the neighbouring countries. The penchant of most Nigerians to consume imported rice at the detriment of local ones also fuel smuggling.

    This is partly responsible for why local rice production accounts for less than 50 per cent of the country’s total consumption, leaving the huge demand gap for polished/milled rice imported mostly from India, Thailand, and Brazil.

    The consensus is that until and unless government stems the rising tide of cross-border smuggling, manage the tariff regime to ensure product availability, fair/stable consumer prices, and protect local producers/processors that are rendered cost uncompetitive by environmental factors and infrastructural handicaps, among other challenges, the latest intervention by state governments may not enhance the nation’s chances of achieving the rice self-sufficiency target by 2018.

     

  • Nigeria’s rice troubles

    Rice, those small, whitish grains shaped not unlike rat droppings, is perhaps the most challenging of Nigeria’s conundrums. Hardball wagers that the day Nigeria overcomes her rice troubles, that day it must be recorded that she has truly achieved political and economic independence.

    Let us put the narrative in perspective. Upon the advent of the oil boom era of the 1970s, Nigerians collectively acquired strange, weird tastes for everything foreign. If it’s not foreign, it is not good enough for us. And if it’s home-made, it is local or cheap and therefore, better left for the lowly.

    That was how come that everything we enjoyed and cherished and held dear became inferior and second-rate. Thus we lost our rich native cuisines and delicacies; we jettisoned our cool fabrics and classic apparels. We became ribald popinjays living on the outer fringes of other peoples’ lives.

    That was how come we abandoned the unpolished Abakaliki rice rich in natural carbohydrate. We turned our noses up at the bulbous Ofada rice and its aromatic iru stew made with the accompaniment of seven proteins. The serendipitous mixed vegetable soup whose exotic flavour graces your nostrils when you belch even two days after you consumed it. We discarded all these.

    And like zombies, we all looked up to the West and East for our daily staple. The American long grain rice became our national staple. The per-boiled rice (thrash) of Thailand became status symbol for the most populous black nation on earth. We voraciously consumed rice and quasi-rice imported from any part of the world.

    It didn’t matter where it came from, it didn’t matter how long it had been stored or which chemical preservatives. It didn’t matter whether it had nutritious value or not. So long as it was long-grained, it was okay for the palate of new-rich Nigerians.

    Everyone enjoyed the good life of imported rice and the farmers of Abakaliki, Ofada and the Benue valley ‘died’ a natural death arising from zero patronage. Their rice growing and milling enterprise also wilted. In those years of locusts and queala birds, Nigeria achieved the infamy of 100 per cent rice importation.

    Today, reality has slapped us in the face. The oil boom has burst. The multi-billion naira rice import bill is no longer sustainable. In the last five years or so, we have been trying to return to the marshy paddy farms we abandoned and to resuscitate the mills. But it has been a tough act.

    Last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which has also joined the fray to bring back our rice, stated rather off-handedly that Nigeria would start rice importation in two years. But the sad thing is that we have been hearing this buzz in the last five years. The immediate past agric minister was never tired of fixing and unfixing deadlines.

    CBN which was promoting its Anchor Borrower Programme in Lokoja is of the mind that its initiative would translate into surplus local rice in two years.

    Not so fast. The rice value chain apart from funds requires patience, painstaking work, massive milling infrastructure, market mastery and clock-work operations sustained over a long time.

    It’s serious business, let’s not trifle with it.

     

  • The race for huge rice farms

    The race for huge rice farms

    In collaboration with the private sector, some states are investing in local rice production. According to experts, this strategic move will create jobs, reduce poverty and fast-track the Federal Government’s self-sufficiency plan for rice, if smuggling and policy inconsistency, among others, are addressed. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

    A subtle battle for the control of the rice segment of the agriculture sector is raging among some states in the country. From the Southwestern states of Lagos and Ogun to Ebonyi, Anambra and Enugu in the Southeast; the Middle Belt and Northern states of Kebbi, Benue, Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Niger and Taraba, among others, a state-led push to boost rice production, processing and distribution has taken centre stage.

    For instance, the push by each state, in collaboration with private sector investors, to position itself as the number one rice producer, has seen Lagos and Kebbi states set ambitious targets of meeting 70 per cent of Nigeria’s rice needs.

    This is on the strength of a recent strategic partnership that culminated in both states signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to leverage their areas of comparative advantage to develop the rice value chain.

    The MoU, ratified by Governors Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos and Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, hopes to end the era of imported rice. “…we have the economic prowess to produce rice locally. The era of imported rice is gone,” Ambode said in Lagos, at the signing ceremony.

    Nigeria, Africa’s largest  rice consumer, consumes about six million metric tons of rice annually, and spends an estimated N360 billion yearly on the importation of the product. This translates to an average of N1 billion per day. While half of the volume is imported mostly from India, Thailand, and Brazil, about 2.8 million metric tons is produced locally. The country, however, targets a total rice import replacement by 2018.

    The Lagos/Kebbi partnership, as well as interventions by other states, may have raised hopes of achieving this target. For instance, highlighting the Lagos’ areas of strength, Ambode said it is the largest consumer of food commodities in Nigeria, by virtue of its population, estimated at 21 million.

    He said Lagos State has an estimated consumption of over 798,000 metric tonnes of milled rice per year, which is an equivalent of 15.96 million of 50kg bags, with a value of N135 billion per annum. It also has the market, with the required purchasing power.

    To engage youths and boost rice production, 100 farmers have been settled on the 500 hectares of land acquired in Eggua, Ogun State through the FADAMA III additional financing programme. The Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Toyin Suarau, who made this known at a press briefing last week to commemorate Ambode’s first year in office, said through this arrangement, rice cultivation had improved.

    “The yield has improved from less than one tonne per hectare to about three tonnes per hectare with double cropping in some areas where irrigation facilities are provided. The state government is also poised to expand its rice mill at Imota from 2.5 metric tonnes per hour to 10 metric tonnes per hour, while at the same time encouraging private sector operators to invest in rice processing,” Suarau said.

    On the other hand, Kebbi State boasts of a vast arable land suitable for the cultivation of rice. It is an agrarian state with over 1.2 million hectares of arable land characterised by very large floodplains, lowland swamps and gentle slopes. In the 2014/2015 wet season, over 600, 000 hectares of land were deployed for rice cultivation in the three senatorial areas of the state.

    Kebbi people are also traditionally rice farmers with average land holding of about 10 hectares. Presently, Kebbi has over 50,000 metric tonnes of paddy in store produced from the last two planting seasons.

    “What we are doing is to pioneer a collaboration that will bring other states on board later as we believe that our potentials are enormous and we must have pacesetters to start that process of joint collaboration for our collective good,” Governor Bagudu said.

     

    Anambra, Ebonyi also involved

    Ebonyi and Anambra states appear determined to give Lagos and Kebbi a run for their investments. The Southeast states, as part of their plan for life without oil, are investing in rice production.

    For instance, Anambra State has projected an increase in the volume of rice production from the present 80,000 metric tons to 400,000.

    To achieve this, the state has begun the distribution of 120,000 metric tons of high-yielding rice species to farmers for this year’s planting season through their various cooperative societies. This, according to Governor Willie Obiano, will  give the state over 300,000 metric tons of rice at harvest time.

    The target is coming on the heels of the inauguration of a multi-billion naira farm project in partnership with the Coscharis Group at Anaku town in Ayamelum Local Government Area of the state. The state government, The Nation learnt, has committed N300 million to the partnership.

    The project, known as the Coched Farms Project, is a joint venture between the state government and the Coscharis Group. It is expected to lead to the cultivation of 2,500 hectares of rice per season and a production capacity of 12,000 metric tons per annum in the first phase.

    Obiano said the project will generate about 1,000 full-time and seasonal jobs for youths and women across the entire rice value chain.

    The farm is expected to produce 8,000 to 12,000 metric tons of paddy per annum with an expected income of N400 million to N600 million per annum when fully developed. At an estimated market value of N140,000 per metric ton of processed rice, the expected income will be between N784 million to N1.176 billion per annum when the production and processing infrastructure are fully developed.

    “These estimates fall nicely into my campaign promise to ‘Ndi Anambra’ that we shall drive development through agriculture to create jobs, boost our domestic economy and shore up the revenue profile of the state,” Obiano said.

    According to Maduka, the project at full operation would provide 500 direct jobs and 2, 000 indirect jobs and would extend to other parts of the state. He said in addition to the rice farm, the project also had a rice mill of 20 tons per hour capacity that would provide services to local farmers.

    With what the state has done in the rice sector so far, Obiano is optimistic that in few months time, the state would not only have enough rice for domestic consumption, but  export the product. He hinged his optimism on the existence of a cluster of investors in the state for rice production.

    Similarly,  Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State recently ordered the disbursement of N1 billion to rice farmers as a revolving loan.  He said the money would not be given to the farmers in cash, but as seedlings, fertilisers, and pesticides among other facilities.

    The governor, who made this known at a special stakeholder’s forum on rice production in Abakaliki, the state capital, said the money was borrowed  from the Federal Government, and will be deducted from the state’s monthly allocation .

    To underscore the state’s determination to be a major player in the rice business, the state government went a notch higher, compelling each public office holder in the state to cultivate at least five hectares of rice this 2016 farming season. The public office holders include state executive council members, local government area caretaker chairmen, coordinators of development centres, and council liaison officers, among others.

    “We have so far acquired 54, 000 hectares for massive rice cultivation and more are expected to ensure the attainment of the rice production goal”, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. Uchenna Orji, said.

     

    Edo, Jigawa, Kwara, Niger, others intensify push

    Anambra State is not the only state riding on the support of private sector investors to claim the number one spot in the rice business. Edo State has also opened its doors to the Stallion Group for investment in rice production. The group recently stormed Government House, Benin, the Edo State capital, to indicate its interest to invest in rice farming.

    The Business Development Manager, Stallion Group, Mr. Sunil Dhermappa, said the firm has the largest capacity of rice mills in sub-Saharan Africa, with factories at strategic locations in Lagos and Kano to enhance prospects of processing local paddy and with capacity of four million bags per annum.

    Interestingly, Edo State is also one of the five states across the country where foremost industrialist and President, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Alhaji Aliko Dangote, is investing $1 billion (about N165 billion) in rice production and processing. Others are Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara, and Niger states. A total of 150, 000 hectares of farmland had been acquired in these five states for the project.

    Expected to become the largest single investment ever made in rice production in Africa, the project, according to the MoU DIL signed with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), also involves establishment of two state-of-the-art large-scale rice mills with a capacity to mill 120,000 metric tons of rice paddy each.

    This brings the total capacity to 240,000 metric tons, with plans to double the capacity within two years. The rice plant is estimated to produce 960, 000 metric tons of milled rice, representing 46 per cent of rice imported into Nigeria. “Our goal of making Nigeria a net exporter of rice will be achieved faster by this significant investment,” Dangote said. That was last year when the deal was consummated.

    As an integrated operation, the Dangote farms and the mills are expected to significantly boost smallholder rice production in the regions through a nucleus and out-grower farming model, thereby transforming livelihoods in rural Nigeria. Also, the selected sites are rice-growing communities and they will be supported by Dangote’s provision of agro-inputs, training, and marketing linkages in order to improve community farming operations. Employment opportunities will also be created for at least 8, 000 Nigerians.

     

    Smuggling, policy inconsistency, others are threats

    Heart-warming as the state’s involvement in rice production is, there are formidable hurdles, one of which is the nation’s numerous porous borders through which rice smuggling thrives.

    According to experts, cross-border smuggling, particularly via the Cotonou Port, remains one of the greatest huddles before local rice producers and this may frustrate the current move by state governments to take advantage of the sector to diversify their economies.

    Smuggled rice often finds its way into various communities and towns in Nigeria through the neighbouring countries. The penchant of most Nigerians to consume imported rice at the detriment of local ones also fuel smuggling.

    This is partly responsible for why local rice production accounts for less than 50 per cent of the country’s total consumption, leaving the huge demand gap for polished/milled rice imported mostly from India, Thailand, and Brazil.

    The consensus is that until and unless government stems the rising tide of cross-border smuggling, manage the tariff regime to ensure product availability, fair/stable consumer prices, and protect local producers/processors that are rendered cost uncompetitive by environmental factors and infrastructural handicaps, among other challenges, the latest intervention by state governments may not enhance the nation’s chances of achieving the rice self-sufficiency target by 2018.

  • Why rice is expensive, by retailers

    Rice dealers have attributed the scarcity of the commodity to the activities of importers who hoard the product.

    A acording to market surveys, a 50kg bag of rice that hitherto sold for N9,000, now sells for between N15,000 and N17,000. There are concerns that prices could rise with yesterday’s  fuel price increase.

    Retailers have blamed the rising price on the ban of the importation of the commodity through the land borders, as the activities of a few importers  alleged to have stockpiled the commodity in anticipation of the closure of land borders. Since the importers got their Form M approved last year, they allegedly began a masive stockpiling of the commodity.

    As soon as the ban was announced, they allegedly took over the  market with their brands of rice and started dictating the price to the detriment of the poor masses.

    They alleged that the importers are now selling the stockpiled rice at cut-throat prices.  A  trader, Dupe John, said: “Rice, being Nigeria’s number one staple food, it’s not good for a few people to monopolise the market, especially when we are yet to be self-sufficient in local production.

    They also linked the scarcity to the absence of other  brands.  “The absence of other brands in the market is the reason we have artificial scarcity and high cost of rice due to shortfall in supply. While these few importers are smiling to the banks, Nigerians are suffering,” the trader said.

    Another trader, Richard Okonkwo said: “Before we talk of banning importation, we must increase local production to avoid food scarcity.“

    To  make the matter worse, the retailers insisted that only the brands brought in by  the few importers,  are  allowed  into  the market.

    The retailers also alleged that men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) are seizing other brands except those of the importers.

    For instance, they alleged that on March 23, 24 trucks of rice were seized in Owerri from innocent local traders who came to Lagos to buy rice simply because it was not one of those brands. Similar seizures were also made in Lagos by men of the NCS from Ikeja.

    The retailers also alleged that traders are afraid to buy rice from distributors except the few brands, for fear of their goods being impounded.

    The traders are asking the government to urgently intervene in the rising cost of rice which they project may go as high as N25,000 in December if it is still left in the hands of few individuals.

    The ban on importation of rice through land borders is said to be encouraging undocumented cross border rice trade.

  • No pricing correlation between pasta and rice

    Insinuations that consumer demand would have moved from rice to pasta because of the persistent increase in the price of the staple item is not true.

    Traders in the pasta market – noodle, macaroni and spaghetti – said just like rice was facing the challenge of hike in prices, so also are pasta which have been affected by the high dollar to naira exchange rate, the embargo on some items and the 70 percent tariff on rice.

    According to the traders, there is no cheap food item in the market any longer as all staple items have gone up astronomically with their quantities reduced. Food stuffs, they say, can no longer be substituted.   They gave prices of items as; N3, 200 for a pack of Spaghetti as against its former N2,500. In the noodles category, Indomie seems to have increased more from N1,200 to N1, 450. Indomie Super pack has increased by N200 from N2,200 to N2, 400 per carton. Honeywell noodles goes for N1,150 instead of N1,050, while Minimee noodles which used to sell for N1,150 per carton has increased by N50, and Chiki noodles which was N1,550 before now cost N1,700.

    The Nation Shopping visited Daleko rice market where sellers of all kinds of grains and pastries are mostly found. Ayobami Ayokunle sells pastries and buys directly from dealers who complain that materials used in making these pastries are imported, reason for high cost of the item.

    Another trader, Mrs. Elizabeth Adeyemo, said since the government banned imported rice in the country and increased tariff, few dealers who are able to pay the tariff increase the prices of rice as they know that rice will not be coming in illegally, especially from Cotonou.

    Mr Fatai Kabiru, a rice seller, said bags of rice sold presently are from the old stock traders had before the hike. According to him, they cannot afford to buy new stock as its price ranges from N13,500 to N14, 700 and above.

    However, shops at major markets such as Mile 12, Mushin and others from observation,have few of these items in their stores, hoping the price will come down since 2016  budget has now been signed into law.

  • 17,000 bags of rice for IDPs saved in Lagos fire

    The Federal Operation Unit, Zone ‘A’ Ikeja, of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at the weekend saved 17,000 of the 18,000 bags of rice stored at the unit’s warehouse for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

    But NCS, it was gathered, could not determine the cause of the fire, which burnt goods estimated at billions of naira, at the time of this report last night.

    Some of the burnt items included expensive imported textiles materials, shoes, bags, new and used clothes and used tyres (tokunboh).

    The items, it was learnt, contributed to the big damage done to the training school and the warehouse.

    The unit’s Public Relation Officer (PRO), Mr Uche Ejesieme, told our reporter that the NCS was awaiting the preliminary report from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA).

    As of 9.30 am yesterday, officials of the Lagos State Fire Service and LASEMA were still battling to contain the fire from extending to other parts of the compound and the generator house.

    Half of the training school building had collapsed.

    The fire, the spokesman said, started on Friday after Customs officers from the unit moved over 90 per cent bags of rice in the North.