aInstitute of Food Security, Federal University of Agriculture, P.M.B 2373, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria
bDepartment of Agricultural Economics, Federal University of Agriculture, P.M.B 2373, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria
Online published on 5 December, 2018.
During the last two decades rice has moved from a ceremonial to a staple food in many Nigerian homes. Statistics indicates that Nigeria is by far the largest importer of rice in West Africa, with an average yearly import of 1.6 million tons since 2000. Total consumption stands at 4.4 Mt of rice in Nigeria, while annual consumption per capita stands at 29Kg and this has continued to rise at 11% per annum, induced by income growth. However, Nigeria produces only about 2.8 Mt with a deficit of 1.6 Mt. As part of its agricultural transformation agenda now the green alternative, the Nigerian government has embarked on an ambitious plan to make the country selfsufficient in rice by 2018, by stimulating domestic production. Key policies and investment strategies have been put in place. The import tariff will be increased progressively until 2015 when there will be a total embargo. The tariff is expected to protect the domestic market. Other reforms include deregulation of seed and fertilizers sectors, and an increasing role for the private sector in marketing. With implementation of these policies, can Nigeria become self-sufficient in the long run? Can domestic paddy production meet the demand? What are the constraints in the rice value chain that militate against the spirit of the policy? Our study showed that Nigeria's rice sub-sector is dominated by weak and inefficient producer-market linkages due to poor infrastructure, including lacked of improved processing facilities, low rice productivity, poor postharvest handling and storage, expensive and poor access to inputs, inadequate market information, lack of transparency among players, low capacity to meet quality standards, and limited efficiency of distribution networks. The study concludes that Nigeria has the potential to increase to increase rice production. The study recommends that government should provide the enabling macroeconomic environment for private sector to produce and distribute critical production inputs like fertilizers, agrochemicals and seeds at affordable rates to resource poor farmers.
