The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammed Abubakar, on Sunday said the ministry will continue to strategise and collaborate with security agencies to reduce the illegal importation of rice through land borders.
A statement issued by Mabel Mbosire, Senior Information Officer in the ministry, on Sunday, said the minister stated this at a meeting, of the Steering Committee of the National Taskforce on the illegal importation of rice through land borders.
Abubakar said that the ban on rice importation had brought about a significant increase in local rice production and unlocked economic opportunities for rice investors in the country.
”The ministry is very concerned about the increase in smuggling and has convened this meeting to discuss critical issues in order to strategise and come up with concrete measures to enable the committee to carry out its duties effectively,” he said.
He noted that the huge improvement in the rice sub-sector needed to be sustained for the country’s economic growth, as signified by the huge contributions of the agricultural sector to the nation’s Gross Domestic Production (GDP).
The minister said this was in line with the Federal Government’s diversification policy.
“The resumed smuggling of foreign rice, especially through the land borders, is constituting a serious threat to these achievements.
“Therefore, if the smuggling is left unchecked it will jeopardize all government efforts to enhance the domestic rice industry and make them ineffective.
“The Federal Government and the private sector have invested a lot of resources in rice production and processing over the years, because of the government’s commitment to the development of the sub-sector through its various interventions.
“The Ministry has been supporting farmers, especially smallholders and rice processors, with quality seeds of improved varieties, production and processing machinery and equipment.
“Also, the provision of modern rice mills of various capacities, parboilers, dryers, colour sorters, in order to boost rice production and improve the quality and competitiveness of domestic rice.
“The Nigerian rice industry has recorded significant progress in terms of investments due to an increase in the quality and quantity of the milled rice and it has, in turn, increased the competitiveness, consumer preference and patronage of our milled rice.
“There is no better time than now to maintain the rice production momentum, in order to achieve self-sufficiency for food and nutrition security, job creation, wealth generation and import substitution,” the minister said.
