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Some local Nigerian rice farmers have lamented the impact of importation on the country’s local rice production.
The farmers, in different interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the importation of foreign products, including rice, has crippled local rice production in Nigeria.
One of the farmers, the acting Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) and rice farmers, Sakin Agbayewa, said local farmers have been suffering since the renewal of the import waiver on rice and other imported goods.
“The increase in the importation of rice is crippling local cultivation of the commodity and keeping a lot of farmers out of business,” said Agbayewa.
Aside from the increased importation, Agbayewa also highlighted the rising price of fertilisers due to the ongoing Middle East war and climate change as other factors impeding rice production.
“The inconsistency in climate change effects is a big factor affecting local cultivation of rice, hence the downturn for most rice farmers. Moreso, the ongoing Iran-Israel-US war is affecting the price of fertilisers, thereby increasing the cost of production for an average rice farmer. All agro-inputs are on the increase,” Agbayewa added.
“So, ordinarily, the situation is beyond what the common or subsistence farmer can handle. Hence the reconsideration of cultivating the produce this planting season.”
Raphael Hunsa, the Lagos State Chairman of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, said many local rice farmers cannot afford fertilisers. Hunsa also appealed to the government to support local rice farmers.
“The issue of rice farming is very unpredictable; most rice farmers are just managing. Most local rice farmers cannot even afford fertilisers. We are not even talking about profit because there is no enabling environment for local rice farmers,” said Hunsa.
“If the government can help local farmers and make it easy for us, the importers will no longer have a market to sell to.”
A rice trader in the Agege area of Lagos State, Tolu Ajiboye, confirmed a drop in rice prices due to the availability of imported rice in the market.
“I don’t know how local rice can thrive with the increased availability of imported rice,” Ajiboye questioned.
“Around Easter celebration, a 50kg bag of rice sold for about N61,000 to N63,000 but now due to the flooding of the market with rice, the same quantity sells between N51,000 and N55,000 depending on the brand. Most local rice brands don’t stand a chance to survive at this time.”
Ajiboyed added that the growing preference for imported ones has pushed producers of local rice to rebag their rice in foreign bags to enable them sell their products in the market.
