When a friend read the list of agricultural products among the 43 commodities that can be bought using the country’s meager foreign reserves, he said,…”Nigeria bade farewell to national food security.””National food security in Nigeria bid a fond farewell.”
Specifically, to put things in perspective, the following food items are imported by Nigeria but do not require foreign exchange at CBN rates: rice, margarine, products made from palm kernels and palm oil, vegetable oils, raw and processed meat products, vegetables and processed vegetable products, poultry, chicken eggs, turkey, canned fish, tomatoes, tomato paste, and maize.
Nigerian and foreign investors who spent more than $3.4 billion to develop over 100 integrated rice processing facilities will be disappointed if the country is flooded with imported rice. Nigeria is said to have met more than 90% of the demand for processed rice thanks to their efforts. They have also become Nigeria’s leading producer of paddy and processed rice. This significant contribution to food security may be lost.
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According to Statista, “the amount of milled rice produced in Nigeria in 2022 was 5.4 million metric tons.” Milled rice production in the country grew in general between 2010 and 2021. The greatest rise in productivity was seen in 2010, when crop volume increased by 26%.”
The massive rice farms, large, small, micro, and cottage rice processing mills, warehouses, and fleet of freight vehicles, as well as the thousands of jobs associated with them, may become idle if imported rice pushes local rice out of the market.
According to a 2019 FAO assessment, rice is the second most significant staple food in Nigeria, accounting for 10.5% of average calorie consumption, trailing only cassava and its products. As a result, Nigerian rice should be fresh, locally produced, and free of preservatives.
Although Nigeria produces more cassava, millet, sorghum, yam, potatoes, and maize than rice, its usage spans all economic and social strata. That is why, whenever its price rises, the media reflects popular outrage.
Other agro-allied businesses, such as vegetable and palm oil millers, will undoubtedly suffer as a result of the strategy.
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