Nigeria produces 90% of rice it consumes - Minister
- The minister of agriculture and rural development has claimed that Nigeria is producing 90 per cent of the rice it consumes
- According to Ogbeh, support of the present administration triggered a visible shift to eating what Nigerians grow
- Going further, the minister said Nigeria is now a major actor in agricultural exports to other African countries, Europe and American countries
Chief Audu Ogbeh, the minister of agriculture and rural development on Tuesday, April 16, expressed satisfaction that Nigeria was now producing 90 per cent of the rice it consumed locally.
Ogbeh disclosed this at the 2019 Annual Research Review and Planning meeting held at the newly commissioned Balarabe Tanimu Conference Hall at the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Zaria, Kaduna state.
The theme of the meeting is: “Harnessing the Potential of Agricultural Export in Nigeria: The Role of Key Stakeholders”.
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Ogbeh, who was represented Dr Karima Babangida, the director, extension services of the ministry, said that the support of the present administration had triggered a visible shift “to eating what we grow rather than eating imported food’’.
“One very good example that we see today is the locally home grown Nigerian rice, hitherto, Nigeria has been a major and largest importer of rice from Thailand and this implies largest importer in the world.
“But today, we have been able to achieve a paradigm shift in the right direction and we are now producing 90 per cent of the rice we eat in the country, I think we should appreciate our farmers here.
“Nigeria does not only have the capacity to feed itself, it also becomes a major actor in agricultural exports to other African countries, Europe and American countries, including the Far East, especially China,” he said.
According to him, the same thing is happening in other sectors of the agric economy, with collective efforts of stakeholders, Nigeria will have a favourable balance of trade in food items.
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Audu Ogbeh, Nigeria’s minister of agriculture and rural development, on Thursday, April 4, urged youth in the country to engage in farming before they make moves to seek for political positions.
Minister Ogbeh reportedly said this in Abuja during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between two companies, the Nigeria Agricultural Mechanisation and Equipment Leasing Company (NAMEL) and the MANTRAC Nigeria Limited.
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Source: Legit.ng
