FROM PYRAMIDS TO GROUND ZERO: How rice jumped out of common man’s menu

There is no doubt that while Nigeria is one of the world’s largest consumers of rice as staple, she is far from being self-sufficient in production.

The rice value chain has been the focus of past administrations, particularly to make the country self-sufficient in rice production, but, unfortunately, there has not been significant achievement in that regard based on bedeviling factors including poor political will, smuggling, sabotage, international interference and influence.       According to a report of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO, Nigeria is the largest producer of rice in Africa, producing about 8,435,000 tonnes annually, followed by Egypt, Madagascar, Tanzania and Mali.

To showcase Nigeria’s capacity to produce rice for self-sufficiency and export, former President Muhammadu Buhari on January 18, 2022, through the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, mobilized rice farmers to assemble over 1 million bags of paddy rice in pyramids under the Anchor Borrowers Scheme, ABP, and were officially unveiled in conjunction with the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, RIFAN, in Abuja.