The price of one kilogram of local rice has increased by 211.52% in seven years as a result of rising insecurity in the nation, an import ban, and other factors. This occurred in spite of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s multibillion-naira funding support for the country’s rice value chain, which was intended to increase production.
In order to promote domestic production, the CBN barred imports of rice and 41 other products from using the official window to receive foreign currency in 2015. Additionally, the federal government prohibited the import of rice across land borders and maintained tariffs of 70% on port-based imports.
The local output of rice seems to have increased in accordance with these initiatives. The CBN recently unveiled 13 mega rice pyramids in Abuja, purportedly containing over one million bags of rice paddy.
While unveiling the pyramids, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), disclosed that the bags of paddy, when processed and supplied to markets, would drive down the price of the rice.naira funding support of the Central Bank of Nigeria for the nation’s rice value chain aimed at boosting production.