TheCable

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) have flagged off the sales of nine million metric tonnes of rice paddies to millers across 16 states.

The move is to cushion the effect of rising food inflation in the country, especially price of rice.

TheCable had reported that the price of a bag of rice (local) rose from N19,000 to N22,000 while foreign (imported) rice now cost N25,000 from N21,000.

On Wednesday, the apex bank said it had selected Kaduna as the key location for the paddy allocation exercise, which will be done simultaneously in the states that recorded the highest quality of rice harvests during the last farming season.

Speaking at the event on Thursday, Aminu Goronyo, RIFAN president, said the flag off, directed by President Muhammadu Buhari, will make Nigeria self-sufficient in rice and almost ready for exportation.

He said the feat was achievable due to rice farmers’ courage, commitment, and patriotism despite security challenges in the country.

“You can see the amount of paddy that we have on the ground. What you see here is going on in 16 states of the federation all to provide food for Nigerians, so that Nigerians will have quality and affordable food to eat,” Goronyo said.

“Before the coming of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration in 2015, we used to produce just about two million metric tons of paddy annually, but today, we can boast of nine million metric tons annually. 

“There is a clear difference, and we now boldly say that Nigeria is self-sufficient in rice.

“Since 2015, the Central Bank of Nigeria has made a deliberate policy not to release forex to the importers of rice. That is to say that all the rice we have been consuming in Nigeria since 2015 was produced locally.”

“We have sold the paddy to the rice millers at N190 per kilogram as against the price range of N200 and N230 per kilogram sold elsewhere. 

“The directive came from the CBN that we subsidized the price so that the millers can also sell to Nigerians at a cheap rate.”

The apex bank and RIFAN also flagged the distribution of implements, fertilizers and inputs to rice farmers for the 2021 wet season farming.