Rice cultivation booms in Anambra and Ebonyi
. . . States benefiting from rice ban and CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme
. . . Farmers return to abandoned farmlands in Eboyi
. . . Modern mills, farms spring up in Anambra

Rice production, vastly gaining traction in several states in the north of Nigeria, is also gathering momentum in the south, as some states in the SouthEast and South-South expand on their cultivation and milling potentials.

In two of the states visited by BusinessDay – Ebonyi and Anambra - several thousands of land acreage are now being committed to boost rice production, while some farmers who ceased cultivation for over a decade, when importation held sway, have returned to the land.

“I stopped farming rice for more than 15 years but the ban imposed on rice importation has made me go back to farming,” said Sunday Oketa, chairman of rice farmers in Nkeleke Unuhu community, Izzi LGA, Ebonyi State.

“Importation of foreign rice was responsible for the made in Nigeria rice becoming relegated, but since the ban on rice importation, we farmers have been encouraged to return to our farms and cultivate more rice,” Oketa added.

The Nigeria Customs Service, in March this year, implemented a ban on rice importation through the land borders, while imports through the ports are allowed, subject to payment of extant charges, as the country’s foreign exchange could no longer sustain the over $1 billion being spent on importation annually.

Production in the two states is getting an additional boost from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP). In Ebonyi, where 11,000 rice farmers have been captured into the ABP net, 3,000 have been certified for receipt of funds and input. Anambra’s figures have not been provided, but it is expected that the situation would not be different.

“This year, we are expecting unprecedented bumper harvests of rice like no other in the history of this state,” gushed Uchenna Orji, Ebonyi State Commissioner for Agriculture, in an interview.
“Actually, our target is 500,000 metric tonnes, but I am sure that because of some challenges, particularly with starting late, we might not meet it. What is important is that all we are going to produce in Ebonyi state will be processed here,” said Orji.

He added: “When we came on board, we saw that the potential of Ebonyi State for rice production was not being met, so we had to devise a means and our target was to get a minimum of 200, 000 metric tonnes of paddy rice this year.

“What we did was to really commercialise rice production and mechanise it and that paved way for its attractiveness to the youth and to our women. We also initiated a one man one hectare policy.”

In Anambra, government officials report that the state has reached its target of achieving self-sufficiency in rice production. Its rice production for this year has been put at 236, 000 metric tonnes, surpassing the earlier projection of 210, 000 metric tonnes per annum.
The calculation is based on expected yields of 35 per cent of about 14,300 farmers and the activities of programmes such as the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) and FADAMA.

In Anambra, hitherto less popular as a rice-producing state, a lot of land being committed to rice cultivation. Apart from the thousands of smallholder farmers whose rice cultivation is being stepped up, large-scale farming is also taking off. One of these is Coscharis farms, which currently has 3,000 hectares of land for rice production, out of which about 2,200 has been cultivated on its fully-mechanised plantation.

Godwin Umeaka, managing director, Coscharis Farms, told BusinessDay that the farm is projected to expand into 10,000 hectares as part of its future plans, which also include the establishment of a rice milling and processing facility.
Different mills are also springing up in different parts of Anambra, to cater to the processing needs of rice farmers in the state.

Akai Egwuonwu, chairman, Stine Industries Nig. Ltd, which produces the “Anambra Rice” brand, said that its rice mill was set up to bridge the gap between the imported rice and local production, with a view to taking over from rice importation after some time.

The 440-tonne per day mill, with 158,000 metric tonnes annual production capacity, and a storage capacity of 300, 000 metric tonnes, operates three different lines which are run through different shifts all-day.

“The Anambra rice is in high demand; most times we receive payments for orders two weeks ahead of delivery,” Egwuonwu told
BusinessDay.

Source: http://www.businessdayonline.com/rice-cultivation-booms-in-anambra-and-ebonyi/

Pic 1: Ebonyi rice world
Pic 2: Anambra rice

Until rice price reach 7k per 50kg bag then I go believe all this news

When the next goverment come in. I know they will scrap all this policy of paying heavy tax on imported rice and making Nigerians starve. Even singapore import almost all what they consume talk more of naija