Rice Production: Agriculture Experts Reveal What FG Must Do to Tackle Rising Costs

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The Chief Executive Officer of the Agricultural Graduates Association of Nigeria (AGAN), Husseini Ilyasu, has called on the Federal Government to subsidise agricultural inputs and provide greater support for farmers to lower production expenses and improve the country’s food security.

Ilyasu explained that the rising prices of fertilisers, improved seeds and other essential farm supplies had increased the cost of producing rice locally, leaving Nigerian farmers struggling to compete with foreign producers who receive government subsidies.

“There is no way you can go into food security without subsidy,” he said at a training programme focused on gender-friendly rice-processing technologies for 20 women’s cooperative groups in Bida, Niger State.

The training was organised by Hello Tractor in partnership with AGAN and the Federal Government of Nigeria/International Fund for Agricultural Development-assisted Value Chain Development Programme (FGN/IFAD VCDP) in Bida.

Ilyasu, who also partners with Hello Tractor, stressed that the government needed to help farmers manage agricultural risks and maintain consistent production.

According to him, “Government must do everything possible, even at its own cost, to keep the farmers on their farms to produce, not leaving them to their fate”.

He also identified inadequate processing standards as a major obstacle to the competitiveness of locally produced rice, pointing to parboiling and colour sorting as areas that require improvement to satisfy consumer preferences.

“The issue of quality is very, very important and improving processing methods could help locally produced rice compete more effectively with imported alternatives,” Ilyasu noted.

He explained that adopting improved processing technologies could reduce the amount processors spend on firewood while providing a productive use for rice husks generated during milling. He added that continued reliance on firewood contributes to deforestation.

Ilyasu further noted that the initiative would improve cooperation between farmers and processors by collecting information about the rice varieties required by processors and passing those preferences to farmers through agricultural extension services.

The training exposed women rice processors to technologies aimed at cutting operational costs and reducing environmental damage. These included using rice husks as an alternative to firewood and adopting steam-based techniques for parboiling rice.

He said the approach would encourage farmers to cultivate rice varieties that meet processing requirements and market demand while strengthening coordination among seed producers, farmers, processors and consumers.

The AGAN chief executive urged the government and stakeholders across the rice value chain, including farmers, processors and consumers, to collaborate in resolving the challenges confronting Nigeria’s domestic rice industry.

“Everybody must be educated, and all hands must be on deck for us to be able to work together to solve this problem of importation,” he said.

Mrs Elizabeth Yisa, the Business and Marketing Development Officer with the Niger VCDP, explained that the programme was part of efforts to promote alternative energy sources for agricultural activities.

She disclosed that farmers had also received training on using rice husks to generate energy and converting the material into charcoal for fuel.

Ilyasu also expressed hope that increased rice production during the current farming season could bring down market prices. However, he noted that the extent of any price reduction would depend on actual production levels, market availability and other expenses across the supply chain.

Meanwhile, Mabel Andrew of Hello Tractor said the initiative was designed to promote greater involvement of women in agriculture and introduce technologies capable of reducing the physical burden associated with rice processing.

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