CBN Flags Off 8mmt/ha New Rice Seed Variety, Crashes Rice Importation 

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN,says Anchor Borrowers’ Programme has crashed rice importation from 1.3MMT To 2,160MMT In 2021 and reduced the strain on the foreign reserves through reduction of imports and creation of jobs in Nigeria

Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of CBN, who disclosed  this  in Abuja at the unveiling of the FCT Mega Rice Pyramids by President Muhammadu Buhari,said  the apex bank’s effort in partnering  with small holder farmers has reduced rice imports from Thailand from 1.3 million tons of rice in 2014 to 2160 million metric tons in 2021.

He stated: “We are delighted that these efforts have yielded fruits in not just increasing the availability of rice, but also in moderating prices, reducing imports and increasing job creation in the country. For example, Thailand alone exported 1.3 million metric tons of rice to Nigeria in 2014. The ABP was launched in 2015 to curtail these imports, and since then, we have seen incremental reductions in rice imports from Thailand.

“By 2016, rice imports from Thailand had fallen to only 58,000 metric tons. As of the end of 2021, they only exported 2,160 metric tons to Nigeria, thereby saving us foreign exchange and helping preserve jobs in Nigeria”

According to him, the total aggregate of farmers in its Anchor Borrowers’ Programme net is now over 4million with about 5.3 million hectares so far cultivated.

He explained  that the  Anchor Borrowers’ Programme has catalyzed the rural economy and has built a sustainable framework for financing small holder farmers in Nigeria.

He said  the programme has developed an ecosystem among all nodes of the agricultural value chain and these linkages can be better optimized through synergy among all stakeholders.

“As at the end of December 2021, we have financed 4,489,786 farmers that cultivated 5,300,411 hectares across 21 commodities through 23 Participating Financial Institutions in the 36 States of the Federation and FCT”, Emefiele stated.

He  said the yield of smallholder farmers has also improved per hectares, due to the inputs supplied, thereby making Nigeria attain the enviable position of the largest rice producer in the continent.

He added:”Beyond increasing our national output from about 5.4 million metric tons in 2015 to over 9 million metric tons in 2021, we have also significantly improved the productivity per hectare of the smallholder farmer from about 2.4 metric tons per ha in 2015 to between about 5 metric tons per ha in 2021.

“These expansions have not only made Nigeria the largest rice producer in Africa, but has also unlocked enormous private sector investment in the rice value chain as the number of Integrated Rice Mills grew astronomically from 6 in 2015 to over 50 in 2021 with many more in various stages of completion. Today, Nigeria’s milled rice matches the foreign rice in quality. Your Excellency, as part of this event, you will be inspecting some of the numerous Nigeria milled rice in the exhibition stands”

Governor Emefiele further revealed that efforts are under way to ensure that smallholder farmers’ yield increases as it has discovered a variety with higher yields, which is expected to commence in the 2022 dry season.

He said, “we are currently exploring a new rice seed variety with RIFAN that has potential to deliver over 8 tons per ha. The pilot programme should commence in the 2022 dry season, and it has the potential of being the game changer for the rice sector in Nigeria.

“We will work with the various seed certification authorities and explore the possibility of patenting it for RIFAN as part of their legacies under the Programme”.

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele said with the successes recorded in the rice production, it has commenced what he termed as the “Brown Revolution” as a mantra for the transformation of the wheat value chain in Nigeria. He regretted that  Nigeria only produce about 1 per cent of the 5-6 million metric tons of wheat consumed annually. He said this costs the nation about $2 billion annually on Importation of the product, which is the third most consumed grain after maize and rice.

He also said wheat accounts for the second highest food import bill in Nigeria, thereby putting pressure on the nation’s foreign exchange reserves.

He commended the farmers diligently submitting their paddy rice as repayment of loans under the 2020 dry season and 2021 wet seasons.