Nigeria: That agric transformation may be


I read with dismay on October 12, The Nation article titled: “Importers, traders laud govt for lifting ban on rice.” The decision to lift the ban, we are told, is at the prompting of the Comptroller-General of Customs. The article incredulously informs us that lifting the ban on imported rice was necessary because a minimum of 10,000 bags of rice is smuggled into Nigeria each day. The logic is that opening the floodgates to importation would bolster Customs revenues.
The following day, another national newspaper carried a similar article titled: “Brazilian investors beg FG to ease barriers on rice importation.” The article goes on to say that in a meeting with the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, the Brazilian Ambassador to Nigeria said he was keen on exporting rice to Nigeria.
First of all, this is the kind of meeting that should never have held in the first place. Sales of agricultural technology, yes! Rice importation, absolutely NOT.
I am totally scratching my head on this one. Only in Nigeria, does this type of thinking take place and only in Nigeria do we jettison well thought through policies on a whim. No wonder foreign investors tend to be ultra cautious before venturing into the Nigerian market. One would have expected Customs to enforce existing regulations and clamp down on illegal importation in order to safeguard the nation’s food security,  support rural and commercial farmers, and preserve Nigeria’s Foreign Exchange earnings.
I’m the grandson of a farmer, so I guess my biases are obvious. For the record, between 2011 and 2015, the former Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, and his team, spearheaded a major transformation across Nigeria’s agricultural value chain. Was it perfect? Nothing is. Was it unprecedented and enormously successful? Without a doubt!



For the full story, check The Nation newspaper.



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