The Chief Executive Officer of the Agricultural Graduates Association of Nigeria, AGAN, Husseini Ilyasu, has urged the Federal Government to subsidise agricultural inputs and support farmers to reduce production costs and strengthen Nigeria’s food security.
Ilyasu said high costs of fertiliser, improved seeds and other inputs made local rice production expensive, putting domestic farmers at a disadvantage against foreign producers who benefit from government subsidies.
“There is no way you can go into food security without subsidy,” he said during a training programme on gender-friendly rice-processing technologies for 20 women’s cooperative groups in Bida, Niger State.
The programme was organised by Hello Tractor in collaboration with AGAN and the Federal Government of Nigeria/International Fund for Agricultural Development, FGN/IFAD, assisted Value Chain Development Programme, VCDP, in Bida area of the state.
Ilyasu, who is also a partner of Hello Tractor, said the government must help farmers manage agricultural risks and sustain 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 identified poor processing quality as another challenge affecting the competitiveness of Nigerian rice, citing parboiling and colour sorting as areas requiring improvement to meet consumer expectations.
“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.
According to Ilyasu, the technology could reduce processors’ expenditure on firewood while providing an alternative use for rice husks generated during milling. He also noted that dependence on firewood contributes to deforestation.
He said the initiative would also strengthen links between farmers and processors by gathering information on the rice varieties processors require and communicating their preferences to farmers through agricultural extension services.
The training introduced women processors to technologies designed to reduce production costs and environmental damage, including the use of rice husks as an alternative to firewood and steam-based methods for parboiling rice.
He explained that this would help farmers grow varieties suited to processing and market demands, while improving coordination among seed producers, farmers, processors and consumers.
Ilyasu called on the government, farmers, processors and consumers to work together to address challenges in the 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, Business and Marketing Development Officer with the Niger VCDP said the programme was part of efforts to promote alternative energy sources in agriculture.
She stated that the programme had also trained farmers to use rice husks for energy and convert them into charcoal for fuel.
Ilyasu further expressed optimism that increased rice production during the current season could lead to lower prices, although the extent of any reduction would depend on actual output, market supply and other costs along the value chain.
Also, Mabel Andrew of Hello Tractor said the initiative was intended to encourage greater participation by women in agriculture and introduce technologies that could reduce the physical demands of rice processing.