Rice: Agriculture graduates tell FG to subsidise farmers
AGAN CEO Calls for Agricultural Support to Boost Food Security in Nigeria
Husseini Ilyasu, the Chief Executive Officer of the Agricultural Graduates Association of Nigeria (AGAN), has urged the Federal Government to provide subsidies for agricultural inputs to help reduce production costs and enhance food security in the country.
During a recent training program focused on gender-friendly rice-processing technologies for 20 women’s cooperative groups in Bida, Niger State, Ilyasu highlighted the rising expenses of fertilizers, improved seeds, and other inputs that burden local rice production. He noted that these high costs place domestic farmers at a disadvantage compared to foreign producers who benefit from government subsidies.
“There is no way you can go into food security without subsidy,” Ilyasu remarked at the event organized by Hello Tractor in collaboration with AGAN and the Federal Government of Nigeria/International Fund for Agricultural Development (FGN/IFAD) Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP).
Ilyasu emphasized the need for the government to take proactive measures to support farmers. He stated, “Government must do everything possible, even at its own cost, to keep the farmers on their farms to produce, not leaving them to their fate.”
He also addressed another significant challenge: the poor quality of rice processing in Nigeria. He identified areas such as parboiling and color sorting that require enhancements to meet consumer expectations. “The issue of quality is very, very important, and improving processing methods could help locally produced rice compete more effectively with imported alternatives,” he said.
The training program introduced women processors to technologies aimed at reducing production costs and minimizing environmental impact. These innovations included utilizing rice husks as an alternative fuel source and adopting steam-based methods for parboiling rice. Ilyasu noted that the new approach could lower processors’ dependence on firewood, which contributes to deforestation.
He asserted that the initiative would improve communication between farmers and processors by gathering information on preferred rice varieties and relaying this to farmers through agricultural extension services.
Ilyasu urged cooperation among government officials, farmers, processors, and consumers to tackle the challenges facing the domestic rice industry. “Everybody must be educated, and all hands must be on deck for us to be able to work together to solve this problem of importation,” he stated.
Mrs. Elizabeth Yisa, Business and Marketing Development Officer with the Niger VCDP, indicated that the program aims to promote alternative energy sources in agriculture. She added that participants have also been trained to use rice husks for energy and to convert them into charcoal for fuel.
Ilyasu expressed optimism that increased rice production during the current season could eventually lead to lower prices; however, he cautioned that the degree of any price reduction would depend on actual output, market supply, and associated costs along the value chain. Mabel Andrew of Hello Tractor further noted that the initiative seeks to encourage greater women’s participation in agriculture while introducing technologies to lessen the physical demands of rice processing.
