Speaking extensively on the current development in the rice industry, Aminu Goronyo, the national president of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), told newsmen that rice farmers now have direct access to fertilizer.
'Fertiliser was a very big challenge, but today it has become a history. We have signed MoU where the fertilizer is sold N5, 500 per bag of fertilizer, and is now a government policy. We have more fertilizer in the country and go direct to the hands of the farmers and is everywhere in the country.
'We have already achieved rice sufficiency in the last two years because all the rice we eat is grown here in the country. With the government through the Nigeria Customs Service on the land borders, including the high exchange rate no importer can go to other countries and import rice for profit. I assure you in the next three months a 50kg bag of rice will come down to N10, 000, he said.
According to him, the association has over 4.2 million registered members and there are not enough quality seed to go round.
Goronyo, however, blamed the past governments for failing to provide farmers certified and quality seeds for over 30 years, which has played a role in the inflation on rice, which currently sells for N20k.
'I blame the previous governments because for the 30 years we don’t have enough certified seeds. The government has played vital role in creating this problem for the farmers.'
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