Rice farmers task South-West governors on commercial cultivation

The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), has urged governors in the South-West zone to cultivate rice in commercial quantities to reduce the price of the commodity in the country.

Mr Sakin Agbayewa, the Deputy Chairman AFAN, Lagos State, said this in an interview with the Newsmen on Friday in Lagos.

Agbayewa said commercial cultivation of rice in the zone would reduce the cost of transporting the commodity from other parts of the country.

He added that rice remained a huge revenue generation opportunity for state governments to explore.

Agbayewa said the governors should utilise all unoccupied land in the region for rice cultivation.

He explained that commercial farming of the crop would boost their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), increase production, create jobs for women and youths, as well as promote food security.

Agbayewa also said that though, rice was being cultivated in some South-West states by private companies and subsistent farmers, more was still needed to be done to become self-sufficient.

He said that producing rice within the region would reduce the cost of transportation and other expenses, thereby bringing down the price of 50kg rice, which cost between N37,000 and N40,000.

According to him, the truth is that the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Finance should begin to see rice as a source of IGR for the country.

“If they plant rice, harvest it and mill it and package it, there is an existing market already in the zone to market and sell it.

“This way, you will bring down the price of rice because you have reduced your overhead cost if you are buying from other parts of the country.

“The cost of transportation, diesel, insecurity, inter-state union ticket, illegal fees being collected at different states and local check points as well as security levy will be reduced.

“All these levies will thereby reduce the market price of the commodity.

“The reason why rice is still expensive in spite of the local production is because majority of the rice in the South-West are coming from the northern and eastern part of the country.

“If you consider the overhead cost of transporting rice from Kebbi, Taraba, Ebonyi and Enugu states down to Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo then people will realise why rice is still expensive,” he said.

Agbayewa said that the governors in the South-West should come together and cultivate rice in their various states and bring it down to Lagos to feed the Imota Rice Mill recently inaugurated by the president.

He added that having the largest rice mill in Lagos, was “a gamer” and would transform the economy of the neighboring states if properly harnessed.

“Any investment now in the rice value chain is good for any government with good IGR drive.

“They will make their investment back in a matter of few years if done in commercial quantity. That is why AFAN is advocating that we must produce our rice locally.

“Once you are producing, you are creating employment for farmers, logistic companies, marketers, sack producing industry, packaging company, printers, haulaging, storage and many more.

“The rice value chain is very huge that’s why we are urging the government to cultivate rice in commercial quantity and own at state level and boost their IGR,” he said.

Agbayewa urged Nigerians to continue to patronise made-in-Nigeria rice as it contained nutrients that was good for the body.

“Locally produced rice is more nutritious than all these foreign rice being smuggled into the country.

“Local rice is fresh and straight from the farm to the milling plant, to market and to the table of the consumers.

“From farm to table lifespan cannot be more than a year or between nine to 12 months when compared to foreign rice that have stayed up to five years before being exported down to our shore.

“The foreign rice have been over polished to have a longer shelf life, that is why an average doctor or a food nutritionist will tell you not to eat white rice.

“Our local rice is creamy or brownish in colour because it has not been polished. When you take rice paddy to the  milling plant, thresh and disposed, the colour of the rice is brown,” he said.

According to him, all the foreign rice have been polished to white, thereby removing all the nutrients in it leaving only carbohydrate.

“The foreign rice is just pure white, no nutrient, nothing, just carbohydrate and it can be on the shelf for 10 years.

“Most of these foreign rice you see here are expired rice, that is what they are bringing down to us and that why when you are cooking it, it require so much water,” he said.