Notwithstanding all efforts to promote local production of rice in the country, the protracted smuggling of the commodity appears to have grown to the extent of dominating the market, just as it suck away the foreign exchange by way of capital flight. Rice is actually the most preferred staple food for Nigerians, This make it…

One of the biggest problems with the Nigerian government’s policy on rice is that its entire policy is constructed on a foundation of falsehood. The idea is that by importing rice from countries like Thailand, Nigeria is supporting the economy and jobs in those countries to the detriment of Nigeria’s own economy. With this is the starting point for policy making, everything that comes after it is completely wrong.

Contamination of rice with arsenic is a major problem in some regions of the world with high rice consumption. Now, researchers reporting in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology have found a way to reduce inorganic arsenic in rice by modifying processing methods at traditional, small-scale parboiling plants in Bangladesh. The new method has…

The brewery subsector has also come under the onslaught of unfavourable macroeconomic factors induced by the impact of stiff competition, lower consumer spending and pressured production volumes, and infrastructure deficit, which moderated earnings of the brewing companies, with attendant depression of profit margin.   Additionally, worsening security situation in Nigeria’s middle-belt region has put significant…

Researchers in the United States of America have developed a new technology that can trap photosynthetic energy capable of increasing crop productivity by at least 40 per cent. The researchers explained that “plants convert sunlight into energy through photosynthesis but most crops on the planet are plagued by a photosynthetic glitch, and to deal with…

Determined to break away from over-dependence on federal revenue allocations, Cross River State government is embarking on mega agriculture programmes to produce cocoa, rice and poultry with the state-of-the-art processing mills The state government also motivates farmers with incentives, especially from the anchor borrowers’ programme, to intensify cocoa, rice and poultry production to take advantage…

The Cross River State government plans to break away from over-dependence on the monthly allocations for Abuja. Its area of focus is the production of cocoa, rice, poultry products and establishment of processing mills, among others.   To achieve this, the state is encouraging farmers with incentives, especially from the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) to…

No fewer than 120, 000 rice farmers in Kano State would benefit from the Federal Government’s Anchor Borrower programme for this year’s dry season farming. The state chairman of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Alhaji Abubakar Aliyu, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview in Kano on Tuesday.…

The harmattan has brought in its trail dust and dry air. Curiously, in place of what was supposed to be cold weather, there is intense heat, which could lead to dehydration, if not properly handled. To avoid or minimise the harsh effects of the weather, medical experts have advised that people should avoid unnecessary exposure.…

11 people have died after eating rice that had likely been contaminated with a toxic substance at a Hindu temple ceremony, a health official said Saturday. Another 29 people were critically ill and undergoing emergency treatment across various hospitals in Mysore, a city in the state of Karnataka. "11 people have died so far and…

Despite the widely-reported cries of hunger by Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the north-east and the acute malnutrition ravaging their children, 162,696 bags of rice donated by the Chinese government to the IDPs have been abandoned and left to rot in stores belonging to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), according to an online medium,…

The Federal Government has faulted a report credited to the United States Department of Agriculture, World Markets and Trade where Nigeria was said to have imported three million metric tonnes of rice this year. Specifically, the document had stated that the import figure was 400,000 metric tonnes higher than 2017 statistics. The report, which was…