Save Our Rice Industry: Stakeholders Call for FG Intervention
The Competitive African Rice Forum for Sustainable Development – Nigeria Chapter (CARF-FSD Nigeria) has raised the alarm over what it describes as an existential threat to Nigeria’s rice industry, citing policy distortions, selective import waivers, and rampant smuggling as major factors undermining the sector.
Addressing journalists during a world press conference in Abuja on Saturday, the National Chairman of CARF-FSD Nigeria, Mr. Peter Dama, warned that the rice industry is on the brink of collapse unless the Federal Government takes immediate and decisive action.
“Nigeria’s rice industry, which has recorded over two decades of growth through public-private investments, now faces a potential collapse if corrective measures are not urgently implemented,” Mr. Dama stated.
He specifically expressed concern on the Federal Government’s 180-day import duty waiver granted in 2024 on items including husked brown rice. While acknowledging the policy may have been well-intentioned, he said it had “triggered a sharp downturn in local market activity.”
“Paddy demand has collapsed, leaving farmers with unsold harvests. Local mills have either scaled down or shut down operations entirely due to their inability to compete with subsidized imports,” he said.
“This has led to rising rural unemployment, particularly affecting youth and female-led processing clusters, thereby reversing years of progress in economic inclusion.”
Mr. Dama also decried the unchecked smuggling of foreign rice through Nigeria’s porous borders, noting that it has rendered legitimate millers and processors uncompetitive, while simultaneously exposing border communities to the grip of criminal trade networks.
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With the 2027 general elections approaching, he cautioned that the continued decline of the sector could trigger both political and security crises, potentially leading to widespread unrest in agricultural regions and growing public disillusionment with government policies.
He further lamented the impact of persistent banditry and kidnapping—especially in Northern Nigeria—which has displaced farmers from their lands and significantly reduced agricultural productivity, thereby compounding the nation’s food security challenges.
As part of a multi-pronged response, Mr. Dama urged the Federal Government to immediately end selective import waivers on rice and related food commodities, and to reaffirm rice as a protected strategic crop.
He also called for strengthened enforcement capacity of the Nigeria Customs Service to combat smuggling and other cross-border crimes effectively.
In addition, the CARF-FSD Nigeria Chairman advocated for the reinforcement of the national rice buffer stock system and increased support for paddy production, including investments in irrigation, mechanization, access to quality inputs, and affordable financing.
“Nigeria’s rice value chain is not the driver of food inflation—it is, in fact, the most scalable, inclusive, and viable solution available,” Mr. Dama asserted. “If protected and empowered, the industry can feed the nation, reduce import dependence, generate jobs, and serve as a foundation for rural development.”
Also, Musbahu Lawan DIDI, Managing Director of DD Rice and National Chairman of the Association of Polio Survivors in Nigeria, expressed concern over the negative impact of unfavourable policies in the rice industry, which he says are forcing investors to shut down their milling factories.
“We are paying taxes and levies while also helping to ease economic tension across the country by creating employment opportunities for many Nigerians through the rice industry. Unfortunately, many milling plants are now shutting down due to the growing uncertainty in the sector,” he lamented.
He called on the government to treat their concerns as a matter of critical national importance and to address them decisively with the necessary political will and attention they deserve.
