Rice production will hit 7million tons next year — Ogbeh

THE Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has said the country is aiming to scale up rice production to seven million tons by the middle of next year.

This is just as the Minister said that Nigeria will scale up its milling capacity to compete globally as the largest producers and processors of rice.

Ogbeh who disclosed this while speaking with Tribune Online on whether Nigeria is the second largest producer of rice globally, said “for those who said it is not true, I think they need to have a second look.”

He said the current statement for the Presidency that Nigeria is the second largest producer of rice was true adding that Nigeria has done everything needed to do in rice production to attain that height.

According to him, “We are aiming to hit seven million tons by the middle of next which is our National consumption, we want to go beyond that.

“I have been to Vietnam, there is nothing they have done in rice production that we have not done; the only thing we need to do now is to increase our milling capacity which we are increasing.

“Our milling capacity is still not up to speed, we are going to achieve that, and once we do, we have no argument with anyone about whether we are producing that quantity or not.

“But people may ask why is the price of rice us still N20,000 per bag, we are feeding 193million Nigerians, we are also feeding another 100million in the West and North Africa, nobody argue with the fact that trucks come from Ghana to Funtua and load grains, they come from Burkina Faso and Mali, from Niger Republic, from Chad to our markets, to load grains and they are still loading for two reasons, our devaluation had made it cheaper for them to shop in Nigeria and our production is such that we are able to satisfy those markets.”

Ogbeh said that currently, about a hundred rice mill is ready for distribution across the country. He said some of the mills will be distributed to Cooperatives and communities, and the terms of distribution will be favourable.

His words: “We have a hundred rice mills for distribution, some can mill 10 tons per day, which will mainly go to cooperatives, some will mill 20 tons per day, while some will mill 50 tons per day and 100 tons per day and the terms of sale and distribution to communities will be very generous.”