25/01/2019
rice-Africa:
International Conference on Rice for Food, Market and Development
Nigeria’s pursuit of sufficiency in Rice production is driven by both economic and health imperatives. Economically, the journey so far has saved us more than N500million, half of our rice import bill in 2014. And from a health perspective, we’re better off not consuming bad rice, either dumped on us by Foreign rice millers who sweep up their silos after years of operation, or rice not fit for consumption in the countries where they are produced.
The capacities of local rice farmers and millers are growing, as the government continues to block avenues for smuggling which pose unfair business threats to their genuine efforts.
The ripple effects of our successes in rice production can be manifold. Firstly, it will rub off on other commodities as we gain confidence in our capability to feed ourselves. It will boost rural economies as smallholder farmers, particularly, get commensurate reward for their efforts. Then, talk about exporting? It is no longer a distant dream, but a reality we can already touch.
NIRSAL supported the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) to host this conference, and was present at the event to share experiences and make plans for further accomplishments. The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Aliyu Abdulhameed, represented by the Executive Director - Technical, Mr. Babajide Arowosafe, congratulated Director-General of RMRDC, Dr. Hussaini Doko Ibrahim, on making the 6th rice-Africa a reality.
He also hailed the Honorable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who was represented by Dr. Fatima Aliyu, for the enabling environment created by the government to boost agriculture..
In his speech, Mr. Abdulhameed emphasized the important role that Banks and other investors have to play in supporting Nigeria’s campaign for food security. NIRSAL, he said, is the Central Bank’s panacea for agribusiness-rel