First, Let’s Talk About Rice and its Production in Nigeria
By Abdulsalam Mahmud
It is what most citizens, especially little children, of our beloved nation savour. They often relish to have it on their menu. Either at home or outdoors. At social events, ceremonies, in eateries and during all kinds of cultural and religious festivals.
Rice is what many will instantly order for. Because it is what they will love to eat. In Nigeria, many farmers cultivate rice. While some do it on a subsistence level, others go commercial.
Commercial rice farmers cultivate the staple food on large acres. Those who engage in subsistence rice farming need not have a plot of land, that is so massive.
Nigeria is among world nations that tremendously cultivates rice. Though the agricultural commodity is imported into the country, on a gargantuan scale.
There are however, many unknown things and interesting facts about the popular foodstuff. They may be a common knowledge to a few, but a majority will eagerly wish to know.
Okay, here they are. Rice is the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa (Asian rice) or less commonly Oryza glaberrima (African rice). As a cereal grain, domesticated rice is the most widely consumed staple food for over half of the world’s human population, particularly in Asia and Africa.
It is the agricultural commodity with the third-highest worldwide production, after sugarcane and maize. Since sizable portions of sugarcane and maize crops are used for purposes other than human consumption, rice is the most important food crop with regard to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more than one-fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by humans.
There are many varieties of rice and culinary preferences tend to vary regionally. Unfortunately, the production and consumption of rice is estimated to have been responsible for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2010.
There are factors that affect the growth and production of rice. They include environment, soil properties, biotic conditions, and cultural practices.
Environmental factors include rainfall and water, temperature, photoperiod, solar radiation and, in some instances, tropical storms. Soil factors refer to soil type and their position in uplands or lowlands. Biotic factors deal with weeds, insects, diseases, and crop varieties.
Rice contains carbohydrates, which gives energy, but it can also raise blood sugar. Again, rice is one of the oldest cereal grains in the world, and people have grown it for at least 5,000 years.
It is a staple food for more than half of the world’s population, and 90% of the world’s rice comes from Asia.
White rice is the most common type, though brown rice offers more health benefits. Brown rice comes in a variety of shades, including reddish, purplish, or black.
Rice requires warm, moist conditions for growth and is grown world-wide in tropical and warm temperate habitats. Rice has a typical grass structure with a series of leaves that form a false stem through which emerges the main stem when the plant flowers and fruits.
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Rice reproduces sexually, producing bisexual flowers that develop into fruits (cereal grains) after pollination and fertilization. Aside from being an essential source of food, rice also plays a significant role in the economies of many countries.
Rice farming is a vital industry worldwide, with an estimated 150,000 varieties of rice cultivated globally. Rice farming originated in Asia more than 5000 years ago.
According to historians, rice was first domesticated in the Yangtze River valley in China. From China, rice cultivation spread to other parts of Asia, such as India, Southeast Asia, and Korea. Rice farming also spread to other parts of the world through trade routes, such as Africa and Europe.
Nigeria is the largest producer of rice in Africa, producing about 8,435,000 tonnes annually, followed by Egypt, Madagascar, Tanzania and Mali, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).
Ironically, Nigeria is the 3rd highest importer of milled rice in the world, importing about 2 million metric tonnes of rice into the country.
Rice farming is one of the most lucrative types of farming in Nigeria. The staple food crop is also one of the most consumed staple foods and important cereal in Nigeria. It is estimated that almost 7 million tonnes of rice are consumed per year, in the country.
In July 2015, when the Federal Government announced plans to place a ban on the importation of rice into the country, Nigeria’s local rice production started experiencing growth.
The demand for locally-produced rice (then) also increased. At the time, the ban placed on the importation of rice caused the price of foreign rice to soar, turning the attention of Nigerians to locally produced rice.
Suddenly, an opportunity for interested individuals, farmers, organisations and even some state governments to go into rice production, was created.
Rice mills like Abakali rice, Lake (Lagos and Kebbi State) rice, Anambra rice, Labana rice, as well as the production of Babban Gona’s rice and many others, are among the producers of rice in Nigeria. There are abundant opportunities in the rice farming sector, for intending rice farmers.
In Nigeria, rice farming is common in the north. But the major rice-producing States are Kano, Gombe, Niger, Kebbi, Ebonyi, Anambra, Nasarawa, and Ogun.
The Rice Processors Association of Nigeria (RIPAN) and Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) are the two popular bodies that coordinate the essential activities happening in the country’s rice industry.
RIPAN, in particular, has remained unwavering in its commitment to boosting the local production and processing of rice. It has, among other things, advocated administrative policies and programmes that will enhance rice farming and processing in the country.
In summary, RIPAN is one association that has contributed a lot to the growth and development of Nigeria’s rice industry. Already, few of the rice processors’ feats have been highlighted in this piece. It cannot be exhausted.
But again, there is always another time to talk about issues of vital discourse in the country’s rice industry, together with the activities of its key stakeholders, like RIPAN. I am sure the opportunity will come. Very soon!
Mahmud is the Deputy Editor of PRNigeria, and wrote in via: [email protected]
