Nigerians spend N1bn on rice importation daily

The Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Segun Adesina, has revealed that Nigerians spend N1 billion daily on rice importation. The minister who was represented by the Director of Green House, Alhaji Usman Dunama, stated this at the flag off ceremony of the 2012-2013 paddy rice production at Auyo Local Government of Jigawa  State.

He said Jigawa was allocated 48,000 hectares to produce the nation’s rice requirement out of the entire 222,000 which represents a quarter of the entire hectares allocated nationwide for the Growth Enhancement Support(GES) of the federal government.

He added that the GES programme is an effort of the federal government to empower farmers on the massive and local production of rice which, he said, the country expends N1 billion daily to import. The state Commissioner of Agriculture, Alhaji Rabiu Isa, who performed the flag off  said that about 10,075 farmers in the state will participate in the 2012-2013 paddy rice production, adding that the farmers were given two bags of fertilizer each at 50 percent subsidy.

Isa said the state government has approved the release of N112 million for the construction of 2,000 tube wells, water pumps and fertilizer at about 60 percent subsidy across the state.