The scarcity of local rice in Nigerian markets is due to the disconnect between integrated rice millers and the supply chain, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has said.
Deputy Director, Rice Value Chain in the ministry Fatimah Aliyu revealed this on Wednesday in Abuja at the 2nd National Congress, Policy Dialogue and Inauguration of the Board of Trustees of Rice Assured Advocacy Forum (RAAF).
According to Aliyu, “There is [a] market for Nigerian rice. There are people willing to pay the high price for it because of its high nutritional value, but they cannot get it to buy. There is that market disconnect that has to be looked into.”
She added that “We are open to all those suggestions because it is part of policy advocacy. Once you, the stakeholders, give us those suggestions, the government is going to look at them because the situation is also a problem to the government.
"Integrated millers have invested so much in the business, and even government has also invested so much in it. So, it is of importance that integrated millers succeed.”
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