Rice farming may suffer setback
From Shehu Umar, Gusau
Chairman Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria [RIFAN] Zamfara state chapter, Alhaji Ahmad Rufa’I Durumbu said rice production in the country might suffer a set back if the necessary support is not given to rice producers in the country.
‘If you look at current agricultural transformation agenda you will realize that it has come up with good policies targeted at real time farmers. But the issue is that sometimes government will not pay adequate attention to these policies. If all the components of the transformation agenda are put to use effectively by the year 2015, government could stop rice importation into Nigeria.’’ he added
He said rice produced locally could be processed to the international standard especially with the introduction of rice value chain; if only real time processors would be identified and given the required support.
According to Durumbu, the problem of rice production in the country is processing the product because of “gross inadequacy in processing facilities.” He said the Bakalori irrigation Farmers alone can produce about 1 million tones of paddy rice per farming season and since we have two farming seasons in a year we can produce twice the said target successfully’
Alhaji Lawali Garba chairman of the Sarakunan Noma, a rice farmer who produces about 380 bags of rice per farming season said rice production is somewhat encouraging in Zamfara state.
“Sometimes back, the Minister of agriculture was here and he saw for himself what is actually happening in terms of rice farming in the state and he was excited at what one woman rice farmer did. As an encouragement, he sponsored her for a hajj trip that year and this is to tell you that everybody is not left out,” Garba said.
He advices the government to focus on giving the farmers all the needed support in terms of timely distribution of farming inputs such fertilizer, insecticides and even the construction of dams for irrigation. “I can assure you that Zamfara alone can feed the entire nation with enough and well processed rice,” he added.
Garba lamented that the major impediment for rice farmers in the state is late arrival of the government incentives, adding that sometimes farmers get such incentives very late or even at the time the farming season is about to elapse.
In his reaction, the state Commissioner of Agriculture, Alhaji Malami Aliyu Yandoto said Federal and state governments are working together to boost rice production; adding that 27,000 hectares of land are being put to use every year, which have the capacity to produce 380,000 metric tonnes of paddy rice.
‘Bakalori irrigation scheme is entirely owned by the federal government. It is only on certain respect that we have a say on what happens there. Since these irrigation farmers are indigenous inhabitant of Zamfara state, we felt it is necessary to come out with policies that can assist them. They are given much attention in terms of fertilizer, insecticide, and herbicide.
“We have taken fertilizer to them at N1000 per bag rate in line with state government policy and they were indeed very happy about it and we have also distributed to the beneficiaries of the state’s government pilot irrigation scheme fertilizer free of charge,” he said.
Yandoto stressed that the state government plans to establish Rice Mills at Yargeda, in Talata Mafara local government adding that it would boost the production of the paddy rice and even bring hope for its exportation.
“The federal government of Nigeria has promised to establish three rice mills and they told us that the only thing they require from us is land and we allocated to them about 600 hectares at Yar geda and two other villages. Unfortunately since then nothing has been heard about it from them again,” he lamented.