The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) Lagos state chapter has stated that the federal government should encourage local rice farmers in the country rather than allow importation.
The Chairman of RIFAN Lagos state, Mr. Rapheal Hunsa stated this in an interview with NAN while reacting to the recent policy of the federal government to allow duty-free imports for the next 150days in a bid to crash the prices of the produce.
He noted that the policy is not beneficial to farmers at all and that the federal government should encourage just as governments of country’s we import from encouraged their local farmers.
He stated, “The import duties exception the government has granted for rice imports will greatly affect local rice production.”
“This will license and give opportunities to businessmen to import their rice free-of-charge. This development is not encouraging to local rice farmers at all, it is not beneficial to us. This means the government is encouraging more rice imports at the detriment of our local rice.”
“What we are asking the government to do, is to empower local rice farmers, so that the country will move forward. The countries we are importing from, if their government did not empower their farmers for increased rice production, they will not produce enough to export.”
“So, let our government support rice farmers too, and let this support get to the right people, so it will not be a scam. We believe some group of persons have confused and advised this government wrongly on this policy.”
“Rice farmers are not happy about this policy, we are disadvantaged by it. We were not considered in this policy formulation,”
Backstory
Nairametrics earlier reported that the federal government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, announced plans for duty-free importation of select food commodities such as rice, maize, and wheat. This initiative aims to increase food supply and replenish the government’s strategic grain reserve. The Minister of Agriculture confirmed that the government hopes to reduce food prices in the second half of the year.
- Nigeria is currently facing one of the worst food crises in a generation, with food inflation exceeding 40% in May 2024. Data from the NBS reveals that the prices of staple foods such as rice, maize, wheat, bread, and beans have more than doubled over the past year.
- Projections from international development organizations, including the World Bank, FAO, and World Food Program (WFP), indicate that around 16% of Nigerians will experience severe hunger in 2024 due to the ongoing food crisis.
