RICE FARMERS EMERGING MILLIONAIRES WITH BORDER CLOSURE
Erdoo Due
Agriculture (as the mainstay of many of Nigeria’s economy before the oil boom in the 1980s) provides food for the citizenry and raw materials for the industry. It should therefore be given priority by the government; fertile land should be devoted for agriculture while farm inputs should be made available to farmers. Also government should come with policies such as border closure as a way of protecting small scale industries and strengthening local production in the country. So following the boarder closure in 2019, a lot of changes have occurred in the Agricultural sector of the economy. However, the most affected crop appears to be rice a staple food for most Nigerians.
According to Saaku Aondongu, Chairman All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Benue State, “the border closure is the best thing that has happened to Nigerian Rice farmers as they now produce and sell what they have laboured for, with available markets. This has also minimized the problem of food insecurity and enhanced the economy of the nation as rice processors are continuously emerging with over 100 processors currently available in Benue State.” On the production margin he said, “There has been a wide horizon in the rice production sector of the state ranging from less than 10,000 rice farmers in the past, to over 40,000 registered rice farmers with high competition among the 23 local governments of the state. FADAMA in these 23 local governments of the state are occupied yet the market demand never met due to supply of paddy rice to other states like Lagos.”
Saaku further pleaded that “the federal government should not go back on the decision of rice importation as this will help improve the lives of farmers and make Benue rice an export commodity, I also encourage farmers on the other hand not to relent in their efforts, until rice exportation is implemented in the country.”
Tersoo Ikpe a rice farmer at Abinsi said, ”since age 14 when I started helping my parents on the farm , it is only last year (2019) we made profit from rice ,we sold a tin of rice for 6,500 (25kg capacity), the paddy was sold at 22,000 per bag now it is 24,000 and we didn’t have to beg people to buy unlike in the past years particularly 2017 and 2018 when we were selling very cheap and still begging customers.”
Torkwase shaadye, a widow and mother of two said, “my husband left me with three FADAMAs when he died, I use one and normally rent out two for money. This year (2020), I have refused to rent any out because last Christmas I made 60,000 from 2 bags of rice which helped me pay my children’s fees and other expenses. This year, I have plans to increase the size of my farm. My expectation is that government should not open the border, but make herbicides and pesticides available, so we too can make more money.”
Bassey Akpan, a farmer and student of the Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi, said:”My family lives in Ikon, Cross River State, but I was sent here for school. When things got tough, I started farming (in my 200L) where I hired a parcel of land to grow yam for business. But this year, I have been denied access because the owner said he wants to farm rice on all his parcels of land.”
Nathaniel Igba, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Real Sector Development Company (RSDC) rice said, “prior to the border closure, there was a problem of selling our products (milled rice), but now there is serious demand for both the product and services rendered. During the yuletide season for example, we had to work day and night to meet up with demands from buyers. There has also been stimulated domestic production, where small millers have moved a step forward, venturing into rice production.” Igba further appealed to the government of Nigeria saying “the federal government should implement the border closure policy further as this has cut down the expense of importation and availed employment opportunities.”
The good old days of agriculture are gradually coming back to Nigeria. At the moment, rice farming is giving priority. Although, some markets experts are of the opinion that the rice produced in Nigeria is not enough to take care of internal demand, talk less of export. It therefore means that a lot more has to be done in this area. The expectation is that the attention given to rice be extended to other farm products like Cassava and yam to make it good for all farmers.
