By Matthew Denis
The Kwara State Chairman of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Alhaji Siddiq Mahmud Abdullahi has disclosed that the state produced 50,800 metric tonnes of rice in 2018 year.
The Chairman made the disclosure during an interview with newsmen at Lafiagi, Edu Local Government Area on Saturday.
He said, “We were able to produce about 50,800 metric tonnes of rice in 2018 as our contributions to the nation’s food security. We can do far better than this, but we are confronted with lack of fund and machineries to embark on rice farming on larger scale.
“The state is blessed with virgin land most especially in Edu and Patigi Local Government Areas for rice production, but the state government has failed to provide us with the necessary logistics,” he said.
Abdullahi, however, noted that Kwara contributed to the status of Nigeria has attained in rice production, saying that that the country has overtaken Egypt in the production of the staple food.
He added that members of his association benefitted immensely from the Federal Government’s Anchor Borrowers’ Scheme.
Chairman, while congratulating the APC Governor-elect, Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq urges him to ensure transformation of the agricultural sector inline with the Federal Government policy.
He said, ” We only have one private rice mill in Offa Local Government Area, no machinery and access to fund to boost commercial rice farming. We want the incoming government to focus on these areas towards providing sufficient food for the people. “
Earlier, the Director General of the Africa Rice Centre in Benin Republic, Harold Roy-Macauley had said Nigeria has taken over from Egypt as the largest rice producer in Africa, having satisfied local rice demands with about 3.8 million tonnes and leaves the rest for export.
Egypt has been Africa’s largest rice producer cultivating over 445,000 hectares of farmland to produce 4.4 million tonnes annually for both local consumption and exports.
According to Roy-Macauley, Nigeria now produces four million tonnes of rice annually, which is 400,000 tonnes smaller than Egypt’s annual production.
In March 2018, Abdelatif Khalid, head of the irrigation department at Egypt’s ministry of irrigation and water resources, said the country cut rice production by 40% to save water.
“We cannot do anything else in light of the limited amounts of water we have. We have to grow less rice to save the water for other uses,” he said.
“Egypt is water-poor already and it cannot keep growing crops that need huge amounts of water.
“Growing crops like rice and exporting it is akin to exporting water, which should not be allowed for a country like Egypt.”
Data made available by the Thai Rice Exporters Association website shows that Nigeria’s rice imports from the country have reduced.
At present, the Central Bank of Nigeria provides support to smallholder farmers by providing loans and linking them with companies in the processing of key agricultural commodities.
