Rice production: Nigeria ready to feed West Africa, World – Gov Bagudu

.Says every states in Nigeria can produce rice

.Wants Nigeria to stop parading as oil producer, focus on agriculture

Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, has said that Nigeria is ready to feed West Africa and the world, just as he disclosed that the country has the potential to double the amount of rice produced globally if the 36 states of the federation can focus on rice production.

According to Bagudu, the total quantity of rice produced globally is 700 million tonnes, adding that Nigeria can triple the figure if the government shifts its attention from oil and make agriculture a priority.

Bagudu stated this during an exclusive interview with our correspondent in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital.

He said: “Rice is grown in more than a hundred countries, with a total harvested area of approximately 158 million hectares, producing more than 700 million tonnes annually, representing 470 million tonnes of milled rice.

“Nearly 640 million tonnes of rice is grown in Asia, representing 90% of global production”.

The governor, who spoke with confidence, further stated that Nigeria can do three times the quantity produced in the world.

He said: “We can produce over 700 million metric tonnes of rice that would saturate the African Market. We have the history of rice production and there is no state in Nigeria that cannot produce rice. We can push and advance rice production significantly”.

Furthermore, Bagudu said: “Until now, oil producing countries that have comparable situation like Nigeria; Brazil, Canada, amongst others do not portray themselves as oil producers but if any of us travel outside the country, they would say Nigeria is an oil producing country.

“That is one of the things that are bringing setback to the country forgetting that we can export yam, sesame seed, cassava, cocoa yam and many other produce. We should stop parading ourselves as oil producing nation and focus on agriculture.

“The world sees us as an oil producing country, it is not good for us, and we are more than oil. We produce many crops such as sesame seed, soya beans, ginger, wheat, sorghum, millet, Guinea corn, palm oil, groundnut, yam, cassava, rubber, cocoa and others. We must begin to develop our commodity value chain to compete with crude oil”.