FG is working to reduce the price of Rice - Udo Udoma
- Udo Udoma says the federal government is set to bring down the price of farm inputs to aid the reduction of rice prices
- Farmers will now be advised on what type of fertilizer to use in order to avoid low crop yield
- The federal government is working together with state governments to achieve its aim
The federal government is working towards reducing the price of fertilizer to cut down the price of locally produced rice, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
Minister of budget and national planning Udoma Udo Udoma said this on Wednesday, June 21 when he featured on a current affairs programme on television about the 2017 Budget in Abuja.
He revealed that the federal government was collaborating with the Morocco Government in this regard.
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He stated: “The imported rice is coming in; most of them are subsidized and undercutting the locally produce rice, which has higher quality.
“The problem is bringing down the price of our rice; we are trying to support rice production by bringing down the price of fertiliser because the price of inputs determines the price of output.
“We are trying to see how we can bring down the prices of farm inputs so as to cut down the prices of local rice in the country.
“We are also working on fertiliser; what the Federal Ministry of Agriculture has done is undertaking soil analyses of all soil in the 36 states.
“And they have been able to ascertain the blend of fertiliser that is most suitable for a particular kind of soil.
“The farmers will now be advised on what type of fertiliser to use, so that they won’t apply fertiliser without specifications on crops as this often leads to low yield. So, we have that as part of the value chain.
“Then, we are giving support in terms of evacuating farm produce to the market by constructing and maintaining rural roads. Most of the crops get spoilt as a result of not evacuating them to market in good time.
“We are working on every stage of all the chain. The Federal Government is working with the state governments to achieve the objectives of this mission."
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Garba Shehu, the senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity stated that Nigeria is now the second largest producer of rice in the world.
He stated this at a special interactive session with the youths organised by Citizens Support for Good Governance in Nigeria in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
Speaking on the efforts being made by President Buhari to restructure the economy, Garba Shehu, who called for patience among the citizens of the country, reportedly said the current administration met a ravaged economy and citizens used to lifestyles that could no longer be sustained.
Watch this Legit.ng TV video of a market survey analyzing the price of various goods since Buhari's departure to London.
Source: Legit.ng
