Traders, millers mop up rice in Kebbi
From Ismail Adebayo, Birnin Kebbi
Given the bountiful harvest that has been recorded by farmers this year in Kebbi, the state has become haven for local, conventional millers and grain traders from Sokoto, Kano, Zamfara, Ebony, Lagos, Maiduguri, Niger and other parts of the country, Daily Trust on Sunday gathered.
Our correspondent reports that the state has continued to witness the influx of rice, wheat and millet buyers from Niger and Benin Republic since April this year.
Following this, a bag of paddy rice now sells for N15,000, against the initial price of N10,000. Under the Anchor Borrowers arrangement, government is expected to buy a bag of paddy rice from the registered farmers at the rate of N113,000 per ton. However, the farmers now prefer to sell their paddy rice directly to the millers and traders who continue to besiege farm locations in local government areas of the state.
It would be recalled that some weeks back the state government raised alarm on how some individuals within and outside the state were going directly to the farms to buy up rice.
This practice, it said contravened its agreement with the farmers.
While briefing journalists after the State Executive Council meeting in Birnin Kebbi, the Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Alhaji Abubakar Chika Ladan, said government would take appropriate measures to ensure that the farmers did not default on the loan they were given to produce rice, wheat and soya beans.
Some of the farmers who spoke to Daily Trust on Sunday said buyers from different parts of the country had been coming in large numbers to buy up their grains, particularly rice.
A rice farmer who is also the secretary of the rice and wheat farmers association, Alhaji Muhammed Bello Barade said, “what these buyers do now to bye-pass government is that they follow the farmers to their farms. They give them large sum of money to buy up everything as they are being harvested. Some are even buying up the rice before they are harvested. They come here from Kaduna, Sokoto, Kano, Jigawa, Maiduguri and even from the South-East and other parts of the country.
The chairman of the rice farmers association in Kebbi State, Alhaji Sahabi Augie, also told our correspondent that since April, the state has been witnessing influx of grain buyers from different parts of the country and neighbouring countries such as Niger Republic and Benin Republic.
He added that the initial agreement between government and the farmers under the Anchor Borrowers scheme was that after giving them loan, fertilizer, generator and pumping machine, they would pay back by selling their produce to government.
“However, with the influx of buyers and conventional millers from different areas of the country, farmers now prefer to sell to the third party rather than to government. We feel we would be short-changed if we sell to government at the agreed price. This made us to change our agreement with government. Now farmers have the option of either paying back to government in cash or with paddy rice. This is to safeguard them from being short-changed”, he said.
To actualize its one million metric tons of rice projection by the end of this year, the state government in collaboration with the federal government has stepped up measures to achieve its target.
Last week, the Secretary to the Federal Government, Engineer David Lawal Babachir, paid a two day visit to Kebbi to ascertain the level of its rice production. The following week, the Central Bank Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, was also in the state. During their visits they were taken round some rice and wheat farms in Bunza, Bagudo, Argungu,Yauri and Zuru local government areas of the state. On Saturday, last week, Governor Atiku Bagudu also toured some rice farms in the state to ensure the actualization of the one million metric tons projection by December of this year.