Federal Government has said that the country loses about ₦1 billion everyday from importation of rice, even as it assured that Nigeria will soon stop importing the grains.
Special Adviser to the President on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, NEPAD, and African Peer Review Mechanism, APRM, Mrs. Fidelia Akuabata Njeze, disclosed this at a one-day stakeholders’ forum on the establishment of the Nigeria/ECOWAS rice sector policy and regulation advocacy platform, in Abuja.
She added that due to the importation of rice, Nigeria had been exporting jobs and financial resources for the transformation of the domestic rice sector in the country.
Speaking in similar vein, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, also assured that “Nigeria is already at exit door from importation.”
The minister said this when he inspected the 420 hectares of rice farm and mill owned by Olam Nigeria Limited in Rubuki near Doma, Nasarawa State.
He said 2.9 million metric tonnes of high quality milled rice was expected to be produced from the farm starting from the next farming season.
The minister noted that with the importation of about two million metric tonnes of rice per annum, the issue of rice import will soon stop.
“We are going to be the Thailand of Africa in terms of rice production and export,” Adesina said
The minister also said no fewer than 670 jobs were created in 2013 through rice production.
He disclosed that 1.9 million metric tonnes of rice was produced in the 2013 dry and wet seasons thereby contributing N320 billion to the Gross Domestic Product, GDP. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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so what happens to dangote that have enjoyed sole monopoly to import rice since 1976 when OBJ first came to power...minister dr adewumi dangote will soon show you sometin
ReplyDeleteafter my NYSC my uncle loaned me N250,000 to start a trade. After some research, a guy at agege market told me buying rice from cotonou to sell in agege market is lucrative. I did my first trip successfully and made a gain of 30,000 wao!.. i was elated and i reinvested all my capital...
ReplyDeleteon next trip somewhere around idi roko , we were arrested by custom men in the dead of the night..
they told me rice importation is on the banned list but that only Mr Dangote can import rice
into nigeria since 1976...they siezed all the rice , despite telling them i was a graduate and that i loaned the funds to start the business...they started laughing at me...i was later told the custom men shared my rice among themselves...i cried for six months..i tot of commiting suicide but i dont hav courage...many nigerians are wicked...
Brother share your story to the world. Such Monopoly is what Jonathan want to stop. Same way he stop the monopoly on cement and cars in the country. Yet they say Jonathan is not working. How can one man be the soul master of all business in the country?.
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