Nigeria is going to be the Thailand of Africa in terms of rice production and export  to stop N1bn lost daily to rice importation — FG

The Federal Government has said that the country loses about N1 billion everyday from importation of rice, even as it assured that Nigeria will soon stop importing the grains.

Special Adviser to the President on the New Partnership for Africa's Development, NEPAD, and African Peer Review Mechanism, APRM, Mrs. Fidelia Akuabata Njeze, disclosed this at a one-day stakeholders' forum on the establishment of the Nigeria/ECOWAS rice sector policy and regulation advocacy platform, in Abuja.

She added that due to the importation of rice, Nigeria had been exporting jobs and financial resources for the transformation of the domestic rice sector in the country.

Speaking in similar vein, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, also assured that 'Nigeria is already at exit door from importation.'

The minister said this when he inspected the 420 hectares of rice farm and mill owned by Olam Nigeria Limited in Rubuki near Doma, Nasarawa State.

He said 2.9 million metric tonnes of high quality milled rice was expected to be produced from the farm starting from the next farming season.

The minister noted that with the importation of about two million metric tonnes of rice per annum, the issue of rice import will soon stop.

'We are going to be the Thailand of Africa in terms of rice production and export,' Adesina said

The minister also said no fewer than 670 jobs were created in 2013 through rice production.

He disclosed that 1.9 million metric tonnes of rice was produced in the 2013 dry and wet seasons thereby contributing N320 billion to the Gross Domestic Product, GDP.