Nigeria’s Rice Production Boost As German Govt Plans To Invests €2m

Nigeria’s effort at ensuring the nation become a major producer of rice seems to be getting the desired fillip as the German government, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has stated its commitment to provide €2 million for the implementation of the second phase of the Competitive African Rice Initiative (CARI) in the country.

The Programme Director of CARI, Mr Jean-Bernard Lalannehe, revealed this to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday.

Lalannehe said the second phase of the project known as CARI-2, would be implemented in Kebbi, Kaduna and Jigawa states.

He said the aim was to help smallholder farmers increase their income and provide their families and the country with high-quality rice.

CARI was launched in four African countries namely, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Tanzania in 2013.

It is a project of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development with financial support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The News Agency of Nigeria quoted Lalannehe as saying that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was implementing CARI-2, which started in June 2018, and is expected to last till June 2021.

According to him, the project will be focused on business linkages in the rice sector to ensure that the producers are well connected with the markets, processors, rice millers, aggravators and input dealers.

“The first phase of the project ended in 2015, and CARI 2 is being implemented in the three Nigerian states to achieve its objective through the use of the Multi-Action Partnership.

“MAP is a concept that allows for regional initiative and policies to be harmonised while enforcing coordination among other actors in the rice value chain in different countries.”

The Programme Director further stated that various strategies had been adopted to address low sale and production of rice across the country.