IITA, AFDB target massive rice cultivation in Nigeria

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Africa Development Bank (ADB) are joining forces to ensure making Nigeria totally free from rice importation that is gulping billions of naira annually thereby striking her name away from the list of countries in the continent that import huge amount of this produce.

These international organizations are targeting Nigeria through a project tagged “ Support to Agricultural Research for Development of Strategic Crops in Africa”  instituted to help boost production of cassava, maize, rice and wheat in African countries.

In a workshop organized at IITA, Ibadan, the project coordinator Dr. Chrys Akem, said Nigeria has been slated to immensely benefit in the international project meant to stimulate massive production for local and export markets in rice and othercrops which the present administration has already embarked upon through the Agricultural Transformation Agenda adding that “The major objective is to ensure food and nutritional security. Another aim is to raise the income level of the farmers so as to better their livelihood”

He added “ At inception in 2013, our modest goal was to attain 20 per cent yield increase in each of the communities we are working midway into the project, we realized that in some of the communities, we were way ahead of doubling that yield increase. When the project began, wheat yield increase was 1.5 tons per hectare. Today, the yield increase is between five to seven tons per hectare across given regions”

“Nigeria is at the top of countries that import rice but this project is equally aimed at improving rice production in the country and putting a stop to rice importation. If we keep producing at the level we are now, we will not reach the level we aspire to achieve food security.

“We are introducing mechanization and start production in larger areas. We have imported a lot of machines from Asia for cultivation and threshing. Once we are able to train the local artisans to produce massively, Nigeria will become a rice exporting nation.”