Nigeria rice: Production don increase or na just hype?

Di Nigerian goment don hail increase of di production of local rice production as ogbonge achievement.

Dem also hala say di kontri dey now even export rice.

But di opposition don hala say dem just dey inflate di actual production numbers.

Rice production rise na just hype?

Nigeria opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) say dem believe di ruling All Progressives Congress party dey exaggerate di way local rice production dey increase for di kontri.

Dia tok-tok pesin Debo Ologunagba tell BBC say "if di production of local rice don increase, e for don show price ofr market".

Di most reliable numbers recently wey we find na di US Department of Agriculture, wey bin predict say Nigeria rice production go reach fie million tonnes for 2022.

Di report show sat di production rate bin rise well-well between 2015 and 2017 and jump again for 2020.

And while Nigeria goment show beta rise of rice production from 2015 and 2016, dem no get any dat a for di last few years.

Wetin dey behind di rise of production?

Di land wey dem dey plant di rice don increase.

E increase from 3.1 million hectares (7.7 million acres) for 2015 to 5.9 million hectares for 2018, and then come drop again to 5.3 million hectares for 2020, wey be di latest numbers wey UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) get data for.

Di goment don dey provide beta seeds and fertiliser give smallholder farmers and then sama more money for irrigating schemes.

For 2014, dem start program wey go help farmers to fit rent machine dem so e go improve mechanisation of rice farming.

In fact, some states dey give land concessions, wey mean special allowance to large scale farmers make dem take plant.

For November 2015, di Central Bank of Nigeria start programme wey farmers fit get loans with beta interest rates, in fact, dem fit even pay back di loans with dia produce.

Recently, for Abuja, dem bin display rice pyramids to show di success of di rice production like dem bin dey do with groundnut for di 1950s say na beta part of dia economy.

So, why rice prices dey increase?

President Muhammadu Buhari bin say di beta production "go help make di price of rice for Nigeria to reduce". But di price of rice still dey rise.

Goment data show say di price to produce rice don dey increase wey go lead to higher prices.

And even as di production of rice don rise in di past ten years, demand too follow am increase.

Khadijat Amolegbe, from di University of Ilorin say, "di increase of di quantity of rice dey meet di increase for demand sake of say population dey grow".

Kasala between herders and farmers for di north-west and central Nigeria for recent years don also affect prices on top say e pursue rice farmers comot dia farms.

But e no clear how many farmers dey affect and how much land di kontri don lose on top insecurity.

Even bad roads don also lead to why di prices dey high.

On top all dat, US data show say Nigeria dey chop seven million tonnes for inside, so di kontri even still need additional two million tonnes of rice make equation balance.

Dem dey import Rice

Because of di shortage between production and demand, Nigeria don dey import rice and sometimes na smuggling e dey take enta di kontri.

Last month Oga Buhari say dem no dey import any rice and say di kontri even dey export di rce e dey produce.

But official data no dey for di exports and we bin fit find from goment wetin be di evidence for di exportation of rice wey dem dey claim.

As for imports, Nigeria bring restrictions for 2015 to boost local production we include:

Even though goment say Nigeria no dey import rice, US report say Nigeria dey import reach two million tonnes for recent years.

And for December 2021, one Nigeria Senate committee agree with di figure of rice say dem dey "either import or smuggle illegally enta di kontri".