Nigeria is one of the biggest rice producers in Africa. Despite this fact, it`s also the largest rice importers in Africa. It`s an essential cash crop for small-scale producers! What can we notice in the Nigeria Rice production statistics? Continue reading to find out!
Rice production Statistics in Nigeria
Over the past decade, the rice consumption rates have risen rapidly. According to Stanley Nkwazema from This Day Live, only in the last decade, the consumption rate has risen to 7 million Metric Tons. Still, only 2.7 million metric tons are produced by Nigerian farmers.
According to the Index Mundi, this number has risen to 2.772 million metric tons. This means that even the increase in rice production in Nigeria still leaves a significant gap of 4.2-4.3 million metric tons. Therefore, Nigeria is only able to supply 49% of the domestic demand. Per capita consumption rate of rice is about 27 kilograms, according to Stanley Nkwazema.
The statistic of rice production in Nigeria clearly shows a 5% increase every year. For the first half of this year, it has already risen by 2.67%, according to the Index Mundi. The Industry Reports also shows the fluctuation of the local commodity production to be between 2,400 to 3,600 in the past five years. The import rates have also increased to 5,850 from 4,800 during the same period of time.
Rice Production Statistics in the States
Only eight states out of 36 can be considered heavy producers of rice. These states include:
– Anambra;
– Nassarawa;
– Ebonyi;
– Kaduna;
– Niger;
– Kano;
– Kaduna;
– Benue.
According to the Nigeria rice production statistics, the imports have started to make up 50% of the local consumption rates. Currently, Nasarawa State is the leader when it comes to rice production in Nigeria. It has over 10,000 fully irrigated rice hectares, according to Stanley Nkwazema.
Anambra State is a clear miracle of rice production in Nigeria. The industrial rice farms have already pushed the rice production of the State from 90,000 metric tons to 210,00 metric tons. Stanley Nkwazema informs that with this capacity, production will soon reach 320,000 metric tons. Therefore, it will reach and then surpass the rates of consumption of rice in Adamawa State. When this number is reached, it will show a clear victory over consumption rates.
Who are the importers of Nigeria?
The Global rice production statistics show that the top five importers of Nigeria are the USA, Vietnam, India, Thailand, and Brazil. These countries help Nigeria to overcome the shortfall of over 4.3 million metric tons. This shortfall is valued over N365 billion. This great sum of money is needed to meet Nigerian demand of over 7 million metric tons.
Why Nigeria can`t meet its own demand?
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According to the Chairman of the Export Group of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (NACCIMA), Ade Adefeko, the rice producers in Nigeria have to overcome great challenges to meet the market demands.
One of these challenges is the inadequate irrigation techniques. The low levels of technologies can`t result in a high yield! Therefore, the rice farmers are not able to fight against the impact of birds, insects, and weeds.
There are also other drawbacks which keeps Nigeria from being able to supply its own demand for rice. According to Ade Adefeko, these drawbacks include:
– Poor quality control practices;
– Poor drying techniques;
– Poor sorting drying techniques;
– Power failures in some regions of the country;
Ade Adefeko also disclosed that the problems of rice production are horrible for the end users. Due to the chaotic chain of suppliers, the end-user has to get the end product through a number of the middle-men. Therefore, the price of the end-product is pretty high.
Ade Adefeko, in his interview on This Day Live also pointed out that Nigeria keeps is working towards getting out from the rice import dependency, but the progress is too slow. The government of Nigeria may try to change the situation with agricultural loans or rice production loans.
Conclusion
The Statistics of rice production in Nigeria clearly shows that the country needs 7 million metric tons of its demand. For today, Nigeria is only capable to supply only 49% of domestic demand. The rice production in Nigeria keeps growing, but it will not be enough to supply the domestic demand of the whole country in the next several years.
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