allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Why We're Importing Rice, By Ruma (Page 1 of 1)

Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Dr. Abba Sayyadi Ruma, yesterday said the Federal Government placed order for 500,000 MT of rice from Thailand because the country's (Nigeria) production capacity was far below its consumption rate.

Speaking to THISDAY in Abuja, Ruma also said the government took the step because the rampaging global food crisis has put Nigeria in a difficult situation.

Ruma, who spoke exclusively to THISDAY in Abuja said apart from cassava, the nation has not been able to guarantee average production of other staple food items to meet local demand.

He said: "We are certainly in a difficulty because we have not been producing enough to meet the basic requirement of our citizens with the possible exception of cassava and that's due to aggressive government advocacy on mobilisation. Nigeria was in a position to guarantee about 40 million metric tonnes of cassava. We have not been in a position, honestly, to guarantee reasonable average production of other staple food items to the basic minimum requirements", he said.

This notwithstanding, government, the minister said, has begun to look inwards with a view to exploring local rice production as alternative to imported ones. This, government also believes would cushion the effect of the rising cost of rice pending the time importation arrangement would be perfected.

The minister, who held a meeting yesterday with interested parties at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, was particularly worried about the effect of the crisis on the average Nigerian whom he said is projected as living on a dollar per day.

"There is indeed a global food situation, resulting in rising cost of food items to which the international community is getting alarmed, especially for African countries and Nigeria, from the perspective of the international community, lives on the average of a dollar per day for family. And on account of that, you found that it is going to be very difficult when against such meagre income and the rising food prices, it's extremely very difficult for a family to cope in the realities of today, talkless of when you are confronted with the challenge of a rising food price.

"I say this because it is on the basis of this that the emerging perception of our vulnerability when difficult situation emanates, comes from such substantial perspective. The analysis that we have seen is that it is costing about seven and a half per cent and which has not happened before. In US for instance, we can say from information on the internet that it is getting close to about seven per cent and it's rising, getting to 10 per cent of a person's income.

"And from their sense of judgement and perception, it is likely to pose four/five times that in sub-Saharan Africa and which accounts for their thinking that an average family that is living at a dollar per day, will cost them 40 to 50 per cent of their income to buy food on account of the rising food price and which means substantial number of citizens and population of Africa and of course, Nigeria, to be living below 50cent. And when you look at 50 cent in the context of the circumstance, it is really quite decimally low to guarantee healthy living. And this accounts for the labelling that we would be in crisis; there would be food rise and so on", he explained.

Even at that, Ruma maintained that the food crisis did not come to the government of Nigeria unawares as the President Umar Musa Yar'Adua administration had put in place, a long time plan for food security in the country. He described the 2008 budget as a food emergency budget, adding that while importation would be fast-tracked for abundant rice availability; the local rice production would serve as short and medium time plan solution to cushion the effect of the rising cost of rice demand in the country.

"As a government, I can tell you, we were not taken unawares and this, I repeatedly have been saying. The President, for some time, since his campaign days and which is reflected in his 7-point agenda is food security. The President has been looking at food security situation.

"Nigeria cannot locate itself as a power to be reckoned with in the committee of nations without tackling the food issue; the food question. You can only be great if the fastest basic demand of man is taken care of and that's food. In fact, our 2008 budget is a food emergency budget. Taking into consideration, the fact that we are confronted with the challenge of low production and also lack of basic food for Nigerians, how do we enhance production to such an extent that Nigerians can boast of availability of the right quantity of food and the right quality at the right time?", he explained.

He also pointed out that the nation's agriculture development initiative was packaged to reflect immediate short term solutions as well as medium and long term. "Nigerians at the moment are confronted with rising food prices but rising food prices of what? We discovered that most of the complaints are about the heavily dependent food item- rice.

The question, he said, is "do we really produce rice? Yes, we produce rice. We have Abakaliki rice, we have Kano rice- that's the Ofada rice, we have the Kebbi rice, we have in Niger , Nasarrawa and we have in Benue . We also have in Anambra. And we have sent our staff all over to make an assessment of how many quantity of paddy rice we have available.

"The only challenge by our indigenous rice producers is that of processing. And we believe there are other companies that have expressed interest too to commence immediate and extensive rice production and they have the processing capacity. We are meeting with them today (yesterday) at 2.30 as to what quantity of rice at home in order to not only patronise our local rice producers, but to give them pat on the back and to stimulate production next year.

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