The President of the Kaduna State Shippers’ Association, Mr. Augustine Achilike, has advised the federal government to invest heavily on local rice production in the country, saying rice is the best in the world.
Augustine who disclosed this while receiving online journalists under the aegis of Arewa Online Publishers Association (OAPA) in his Kaduna office said: “There is no reasonable Nigerian that can compare our local rice with the foreign one.
“Nigerian government needs to invest more in rice production because our rice is the best in the whole world. Our rice is the organic type. Check the ones that is been exported to US, I know how much they buy them because they prefer organic food.
“What we need now in Nigeria is excess of locally produced rice, definitely if we achieve that, rice price will fall. There is no reasonable Nigerian that can compare the local rice with the foreign rice. So those people that are struggling to bring in foreign rice, it will just be a waste of fund.,” he said
Speaking on Non-Oil Produce, Mr. Achilike said northern Nigeria is greatly blessed with Agricultural produce, adding that food produced in the North could feed the entire Africa and even exported to Europe and Asia if properly managed.
“The greatest problem here is that they do not know how to make use of this farm produce. We have the best agric produce in the world here, but how do we know the country, the company and the individuals that are in need of these produce outside, is the issue.
“Today we have a refining plant in Kaduna, managed by Obasanjo farms, all these agric produce like ginger, zobo etc, whatever you have that you want to export to international market, the company will refine it to the standard of the country you want to export it to.
“It is surprising how people tie their money in the bank instead of investing in agriculture. I tell you, agric exportation is the only business that can give you 100% profit that is if you invest like N5m you are sure of making another N5m within one year”, he said.
