Border closure, what next?

Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari in August ordered the closure of Nigeria’s border; a policy made to promote investment in  agriculture and increase the sector’s contribution to economic growth.

Through this programme, Nigeria has been able to save billions spent on importation of rice and other food items.

But are there adequate preparations for this policy? Since the closure of the border, citizens have been encouraged to consume domestic farm  produce, which is a good decision.

But before the government embarked on this policy, all facilities should have been made readily available.

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While I commend the Federal Government for making this great decision because it will indeed reduce the rate of unemployment in the country, I want to emphasise the need to make adequate provisions for the policy to work.

About 18 states in the country have the potential to grow rice and the government has been releasing loans to farmers but I will implore government to help provide more facilities for the agricultural sector.

Can the domestic food items meet the need of citizens? Are the citizens deriving satisfaction from the consumption of the local food items? For example, the local rice in circulation is not well polished like the foreign rice; in other to encourage the consumption of this rice, the government should provide the facilities.

Poor mechanisation is drastically having an effect on the production and consumption of local farm produce. For local rice, people complain of  too much dirt.

Also, the Nigerian government should encourage foreign investors from countries like Thailand where they also produce rice to help the local  industry grow.

Bakare Rukiyat,

[email protected]

Nigerian Tribune