The Federal government has reaffirmed its commitment in enhancing rice production in all parts of the country.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr. Mohammad Mahmoud Abubakar disclosed this during the distribution of farm inputs to Rice Farmers from the North western States held in Kano.
Represented by the Deputy Director Rice Value Chain Alhaji Usman Bashir, the Minister said the objectives of the gesture was to boost rice production across the country.
He explained that with regards to the high rate of rice consumption in the country, government cannot afford to rely on importation of the commodity , hence all needed support would be accorded to farmers, geared towards enhancing rice production.
“As you know, the purpose of this intervention is to bolster rice production in all parts of the country. As a staple crop, rice is consumed in virtually all our homes across the country. We therefore cannot afford to rely on importation of this important food item and be exporting labour outside the country while our citizens can grow and produce it sufficiently.”
Dr. Mohammad Mahmoud noted that the Ministry has produced and distributed high quality Early Generation Seeds (AGS) through the National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI) to produce more certified seeds for distribution to farmers at the grassroots in order to encourage community seed production.
“The Ministry has produced and distributed high quality Early Generation Seeds (AGS) through the National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI) to produce more certified seeds for distribution to farmers at the grassroots in order to encourage community seed production.”
We are also producing and distributing Flood Tolerant Certified seeds of FARO 66 and 67 to farmers along the riverine areas to mitigate the effect of flood and other natural disasters as witnessed recently.”
The minister added that the Ministry provides farm equipment in form of power tillers, transplanters, rice reapers, threshers and other simple farm tools to small holder farmers in different locations at subsidized rate.
“There is also an upgrade in the milling process. New rice mills are springing up in the process of reestablishing integrated rice mills in strategic rice production clusters”.
The workshop was attended by participants from the seven states of the Northwest geo-political zone.
Abdullahi Jalaluddeen
