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| Nigerian Agric Minister, Dr. Akin Adesina courtesy: David Plas |
Nigeria is on the path of meeting
our national requirement for rice through local production. This is in spite of
insinuation by some faceless people that there is shortage of paddy, a basis
for their growing subtle agitation for rice importation. Such an agitation, if
taken seriously, has a tendency to mislead, confuse and deceive Nigerians into
believing that nothing is happening in addressing our perennial national rice
shortage. The false assertions probably emanated from the fears of traders who
have failed to recognise the rapid transformation of Nigeria from importing and
trading culture to self-sufficiency in rice production.
Under the rice transformation
agenda, the federal government, through the activities of the ministry of
agriculture and rural development, is closer to meeting, in 2013, the projected
target of replacing 2.1 million MT of rice we annually import. This is two
years earlier than the 2015 earlier projected. Results from the field show
that, by 2013, we would have produced enough paddy, about 3.23 million MT, to
give over two million MT of milled rice.
This is the first time ever that the
federal government is supporting dry season in the northern part of Nigeria, an
initiative that is receiving unprecedented response from the farmers who are
rushing to rice production, as a result of federal government’s support. Under
the government intervention, beneficiaries receive free seeds and additional
support in form of fertiliser. Fertiliser blending plants and importers
provided large quantities of fertilisers far beyond the demand of Nigerian
farmers and for the first time fertilisers were available in all the local
government areas of Nigeria for farmers to buy. Fertiliser companies sold
15 billion Naira worth of fertilisers directly to farmers, instead of to
government, as was the case before Adesina's radical fertiliser sector reforms.
Seed companies sold 1.5 billion Naira of seeds directly to farmers.
After setting the target, the
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, within the
context of Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), in mid 2011, took the
first practical steps, restructuring the input delivery arrangement by
completely privatising and deregulating it. The ministry held several meetings
with input providers, leading to agreements to produce 15,000 MT of Faro 44 and
Faro 52 and large quantities of fertiliser.
Soft loan facilities were arranged
and provided in commercial banks to
facilitate the initiative. SEEDAN, the umbrella body of commercial seed
producers, and fertiliser companies secured loan and embarked on massive
production of improved seed and fertiliser for 2012 cropping season. By
April 2012, 11,800 MT of Faro 44 and Faro 52, and small quantities of upland
rice varieties, were produced for distribution free to farmers who had almost
lost the culture of the use of improved seed to enhance yield.
The 11,800 MT of seed planted
236,000 hectares of low land rice and some hectares of upland rice in Ogun,
Ekiti and Southern Kaduna states. At an average yield of 2.5 MT per
hectare, 590,000 MT of paddy was produced in 2012, under ATA. It was
estimated that another 200,000 hectares of rice was planted under different
ecologies by subsistent farmers at low level technology. This in turn
would give additional 400,000 MT at 2.0 ton per hectare.
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| Nigerian Agric Minister, Dr. Akin Adesina courtesy: David Plas |
Before
the launching of rice transformation agenda, not up to three integrated mills
were operating at the same time in Nigeria. But by December 2012, due to
sensitisation efforts, 15 integrated mills were operating at the same time
under private sector arrangement and by the third quarter of 2013, up to 25
such mills are expected to be in operation across the rice growing ecologies in
Nigeria.
The
milling capacity of these mills has been estimated at over 850,000 MT per
annum, while there is a plan to add 40 mills by the government, to be
completely privatised. By December 2013, the total milling capacity of all the
integrated mills will be over 2.0 million MT per annum. They will be
producing high quality rice comparable with the highest grade of imported rice.
To
augment paddy production, the initiative on dry season paddy production,
initiated by the minister of agriculture, Dr. Adesina, emerged as a national
policy on food security in response to the rapidly increasing number of high
quality rice mills which are putting pressure on paddy supply. Dubbed
"double up rice production", the goal is to produce rice in both main
and dry seasons to meet national rice paddy needs. According to Adesina, who
works with relentless passion as an agriculture evangelist, "every
suitable land for rice will be cultivated across Nigeria. We will not allow
unscrupulous rice importers to derail Mr. President's policy for self
sufficiency in rice. We will feed ourselves and do so with pride."
In
its first season, starting in November 2012, farmers in ten leading
rice-producing states of Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi,
Gombe, Niger and Kogi were empowered to go into dry season paddy production.
Each received free 50kg of seeds, two bags of 15-15-15 NPK and one bag of Urea.
Clusters were also assisted with water pumps to bring water to the
fields.
An
interim report has just shown that, apart from Katsina, which is yet to submit
reports on the number of farmers and the estimated tonnage of paddy production,
all the nine other states together have recorded a total of 147,520
participating farmers, expected to have risen to 170,000 by the end of March,
and a total of 590,680 MT paddy, with the highest farmers population of 45,688
farmer and highest output of 182,752 MT coming from Kebbi.
By
30th March, a total of 170,000 farmers would have gotten seeds
to plant one hectare each, translating into 170,000 ha of rice. Average
yield of cereal crops, especially rice is higher in the dry season and is
expected to be 4mt of paddy per hectare. This dry season scheme will
generate 680,000 MT of paddy between now and June 2013, enough to keep 20
integrated mills running till the main season of 2013 crop harvest. Total
paddy production in 2012 is estimated at 1,670,000 MT.
With
31,000 MT of improved seed now ready for distribution to farmers, to plant
620,000 hectares of land for 2013 wet and dry season rice cultivation, at an
average yield of 3.5 MT per hectare, about 2,170,000 MT of paddy is expected,
which, considered in isolation, is close to narrowing the perennial supply gap.
Expanding the 2013/2014 dry season paddy production scheme to other
agro-ecological zones and putting at least another 300,000 hectares into
production to double, at least, to 300,000, we will produce additional 1,200,000
MT of paddy. This will raise the estimated paddy production for both dry and
wet seasons in 2013 to 3.37 million metric tons.
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| Nigerian Agric Minister, Dr. Akin Adesina flanked by some guest at a forum courtesy: David Plas |
Arrangements
for collection, marketing and sale of rice are bringing encouraging responses.
USAID MARKETS has been involved in rice development project in Nigeria for some
years and its experience will be useful under the government’s intervention on
rice. In its collaboration with USAID MARKETS, the federal ministry of
agriculture is working to set up paddy-buying arrangement in various
rice-growing ecologies. This will facilitate purchase of paddy from small
holders and sale to large mills to enhance their performance.
A
member of the National Assembly, Hon. Munir Baba Dan, deputy chairman of the
House Committee on Agriculture, who has been monitoring things on the ground in
the north, was full of praises for the minister of agriculture.
"This is the first time ever the federal government will support dry
season agriculture. We have never seen anything like this before. The dry
season rice production in the north is massive and there will be bumper paddy
harvest," the lawmaker observed. According to him, "this
minister has radically changed the face of agriculture. The results are not on
paper; they are visible for all to see. Farmers are coming out in large numbers
in response to his policy initiatives. I have no doubt that, with the approach
of the federal government working so closely with states and local governments,
Nigeria will soon become self sufficient in rice."
*This
was contributed by Dr. Olukayode Oyeleye, S. A. Media to Hon. Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Development, from the Federal Capital, Abuja
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