The demand for rice is constantly on the increase. It's one of the most consumed foods in Kebbi State, Nigeria and the world at large. Rice is a staple food to over 70 percent of the world’s population.
Kebbi State is one of the largest producer of rice in Nigeria currently expected to produce one million tonnes of rice in six months, as against less than 400,000 tonnes it previously produced. Infact, the State has projected an aggregate production target of 2.5 million metric tonnes of paddy rice at the end of the 2018 dry and rainy planting seasons.
However, this production, with that of other states have not been able to compete with the amount of rice needed to sustain Nigeria's ever-growing populace.
According to a report by farmers to Nigerian Tribune, "Nigeria’s vision to lift thousands of smallholder farmers out of poverty and increase levels of rice production from 50 per cent to at least 70 per cent by 2020 may become a reality a little earlier than anticipated"
Kebbi State has a huge potential of producing rice in commercial quantities to meet more demand.
In the North-western state, over 200,000 farmers cultivate rice thrice yearly. The peak of the activity is the dry season when the product is grown twice in the year. Rice is produced in 16 of the 21 local government areas of Kebbi state.
The Central Bank’s measure to promote the consumption of local rice in the state through its Anchor Borrowers Program (ABP) is a great step in the right direction. The rice revolution was commissioned in 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari being influenced by the effort of both the Kebbi State Governor, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu and the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.
According to the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), the country has saved up $600 million (about N216 billion) from stoppage of rice importation through its domestic mass production under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP).
With my interactions with farmers in the state recently, and with the progress being made already, if the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) initiative, the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) was sustained, Nigeria could feed itself earlier than 2020.
Reports from Thrive Agric posited that "Some people have termed this emerging trend as “rice revolution” and if the government sustains this process, it will help conserve the foreign exchange, create employment and make agriculture attractive among the young populace as millionaire farmers are going to be emerging from the process."
If more farmers are empowered with the necessary inputs and funding, the production output for rice will greatly increase in Kebbi State.
I believe in the near future, there will be enough rice to sustain the state leading to the achievement of food security in the country.
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