FG to empower 500,000 rice farmers

News Update

THE price of rice is expected to drop as the Federal Government is set to empower 500,000 local farmers, especially those who grow rice.

This was revealed by the president of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Kabir Ibrahim in an interview, saying 500,000 farmers are anticipated to be empowered by the National Agricultural Growth Scheme—Agro Pocket initiative beginning in February 2025.

He promised that the farmers would receive all-encompassing support from this initiative, which would also help to boost rice output, which has struggled recently.

“A NAGS-AP project is now underway. It is scheduled to begin in February. With complete backing, it will be able to capture 500,000 farmers. And something occurred last year. It didn’t work. It wasn’t completed on time. It’s going to intensify this,” Ibrahim said.

The announcement is made in growing anxiety over the sharp rise in food costs, particularly for rice.

The price of a 50-kg bag of rice in Abuja has skyrocketed to at least N110,000, taxing households all over the nation.

This price increase is related to Nigeria’s recent decrease in rice production, which dropped from 8.9 million tonnes in the previous year to 8.3 million tonnes for the 2024–2025 cycle.

Concerns over food security have been raised by the production reduction, even though government initiatives to increase agricultural productivity have been implemented.

According to data from the US Department of Agriculture, milled rice production has been declining noticeably since the 2023–2024 planting season.

Regarding the government’s plan to improve food security, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, stated, “We must make Nigerians and the world aware of our efforts to attain food and nutrition efficiency, thereby combating hunger, starvation, and malnutrition in the country.”