Despite Govt’s Interventions, Smuggling Remains Bane of Nigeria’s Rice Production – RIPAN
Days after an investigative report by Economic Confidential on How Illicit Rice Importation is Threatening FG’s Agricultural Sector Interventions, a major stakeholder has raised its voice on the situation.
The Rice Processors Association of Nigeria (RIPAN) lamented that, though the country’s rice industry may have enjoyed considerable support from the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, all is still not well with the agro sub-sector.
RIPAN explained that the illegal importation of rice has persisted. It noted that rice smuggling across the land borders is the bane of the rice sub-sector, in Nigeria.
At a press conference in Abuja, RIPAN on Tuesday said that because rice is a staple food for Nigerians, smugglers take it as an a-rated trade item and consequently smuggle millions of tons of finished packaged rice from India, Thailand and other southeast Asian countries into the country, from Nigeria’s porous borders with Benin Republic, Niger Republic and Cameroon.
Andy Ekwelem, Director General of RIPAN, while speaking at the conference, said that before the coming of the Buhari government, imported rice was allowed into the country.
He said: “As at the last quarter of 2014, official Rice import into Nigeria from Thailand was about 1.24 million tons of rice; by the end of 2015, these imports had dropped to about 644,131MT, and by the end of 2016, it dropped to 58,260MT.
“In 2017, the imports further dropped to 23,192MT but by 2022, it dropped to an all-time minimal of 438MT.
“Of course, the reason for the drops – which to us at RIPAN, is a very positive development – is nothing more than Mr. President’s hard stand approach against food importation.
“Recall that President Buhari is a strong advocate of “grow what you eat and eat what you can grow”; and to ensure that he walks his talk, Mr. President, through the Central Bank of Nigeria, launched various programmes that encouraged local production and processing of rice”.
According to Ekwelem, programmes such as the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, the Paddy Aggregation Scheme, the Private Sector-Led Accelerated Agriculture Development Scheme, and the Real Sector Support Facility (RSSF), among others, where deliberate strategies that encouraged indigenous and foreign business concerns to invest massively in the rice value chain.
He added that, “Today Nigeria boasts of over 100 large-scale integrated rice processing facilities scattered across the country. This is more than 700% increase from the mere 13 large integrated mills operating in the country between 2010-2014”.
The RIPAN Director General hopes that the incoming administration will follow through some of the laudable policies of the current administration, as well as design and launch new ones to further strengthen and sustain the Nigeria Rice Industry.
Said Ekwelem: “The incoming administration must have devised a new strategy of dealing with these economic saboteurs if the Government really wants the huge investments of both the Government of Nigeria and the private sector in the Rice subsector to survive”.
Other members of RIPAN who spoke at the Press Briefing included Chairman, Agrotek Value Chains Agent (AVCA Ltd), Mr. Paul N. Eluhaiwe and Director, Prime Waves Limited, Engr. Ilyasu Nazifi and other members were in attendance.
