ABUJA/Nigeria: The price of rice will be reduced in the next few months, the National President, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Aminu Goronyo says. This was made known on Wednesday during a meeting between rice farmers, processors and the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja. He attributed it to the wet bumper season harvest by farmers. “In the next few months, God willing, the Price of a 50kg bag of rice will come down to N6000. It is achievable, it will be a reality.
Mohammed Abubakar, Chairman of Rice Processors Association of Nigeria (RIPAN) said the association has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to slash the price of both paddy and processed rice. “If this MoU works, we hope to sell a bag of rice at N13,000 immediately depending on where you are in the country.
The Minister commended the associations for their decision to slash the price of locally produced rice. The minister noted that the greatest challenge facing rice farmers in Nigeria was smuggling, said the move would aid efforts to stamp out rice smuggling into the country. The Federal Government had banned the importation of rice to improve local production and some states like Kebbi and Lagos have jointly produced rice for commercial activities in their states.
Also Data made available from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that export activities in the agricultural sector has been on the rise.
