He attributes the development to his administration’s strong political will, the deployment of science and technology and the massive private sector investment in rice production and processing in the past four years.
He stated that the country’s food imports has been on the downward trend from N1.1 trillion in 2009 to N634 billion in December2013.
“I’m optimistic therefore that our food import bill will continue its downward trend,” he asserted.
“I’m optimistic therefore that our food import bill will continue its downward trend,” he asserted.
According to him, the Nigerian rice industry in the next three months would be receiving an additional private sector investment of $1.7 billion mainly from the Dangote group, while Olam which is cultivating over 6,000 hectares of rice in Nasarawa State, using modernise airplane broadcasting has sunk in about $700 million into the sector.
In what he described as rice revolution about to be unleashed in the country, he said the rice revolution which has attained 80 per cent self-sufficiency marked a total turning point for food security and production in the country, adding, “I have no doubt in mind that in the next three years Nigeria will be exporting rice to other countries just like Thailand and India.
We are looking forward to that.
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