Browsing: President Muhammadu Buhari

Rice in Nigeria
  • Nigeria has commissioned the large-scale Integrated Rice Mill to expand domestic rice production and achieve self-sufficiency.
  • President Muhammadu Buhari says the move is in line with his government’s mandate to achieve food security and boost incomes.
  • Nigeria is the largest producer of rice in Africa, producing about 8.44 million tonnes annually. It is followed by Egypt, Madagascar, Tanzania and Mali.

Nigeria has commissioned the large scale integrated rice mill as the West African country expands domestic rice production to achieve food security and boost incomes for millions of farmers.

President Muhammadu Buhari said the move aligns with his government’s objective of achieving food security and enhancing rice value chain. The new rice mill is located in Sheda, Kwali Area Council, within Abuja.

“We have witnessed the rapid increase in domestic rice production from the incentives given to farmers and processors over the period as a resolution of leveraging our potentials, …

Inflation, high cost of living, food insecurity clouds Buhari's administration. www.theexchange.africa

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, has not been spared either. Food staples are scarcer in Nigeria than ever before as the government tries to deal with a record inflation rate, indicating that the country may be in danger of experiencing a food crisis. Staple food costs have risen for a third year as Africa’s most populous nation succumbs to the onslaught of causes that are pushing an estimated 200 million people into poverty.

Because it relies on oil imports, Nigeria, a major petroleum producer, has a very fragile economy. Nigeria has been left vulnerable as oil prices have surged to a historic high. Increased political instability, the consequences of climate change, and the COVID-19 aftermath have all harmed Nigeria’s economy, sending the value of its currency down even more against the dollar.

As a result, the poverty rate in the country has remained at around 50%. According to the UN’s food …

Nigeria's race to replace Buhari. Who and what next? www.theexchange.africa

President Buhari of Nigeria is keen to complete critical infrastructure projects as elections approach next year.

One of these projects is the Lagos light rail train project, which has gathered dust for decades. The project is back in motion, with the state government optimistic that the first phase of the Blue Line – one of the two lines to form the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) system – will be operational this year.

Power infrastructure is a crucial area of interest. The country is rushing on the six-year multi-billion-dollar pact with German company Siemens to expand and revamp the dysfunctional national grid to unlock at least 25,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity by 2025.

On the renewable energy side, the government is working on the 3,050 MW Mambilla Hydropower Project in Taraba, which has dragged on for over 40 years despite significant budgetary allocations.…

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Buhari launches 13 million bags of Rice to reduce the prices. www.theexchange.africa

Buhari said that the rice pyramids would aid efforts to reduce the price of rice in Nigeria. He expressed his expectations for other agricultural organizations to join the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-funded Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) that supports Buhari’s drive for food sufficiency.

Speaking at the event Central Bank’s governor, Godwin Emefiele, said that CBN collaboration with RIFAN increased the national output of rice to over 9 million metric tonnes in 2021, up from about 5.4 metric tonnes in 2015.

Productivity per hectare of smallholder farmers has also increased from 2.4 metric tonnes to about five metric tonnes over the same period.…