In a move to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production, processing and export by 2007, the Federal Government on 21 June in Abuja launched a new variety of rice known as New Rice for Africa (NERICA).

Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Bamidele Dada, who performed the launching, put the yearly imports of rice in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa at about six million metric tonnes, in addition to the local production of over 12 million metric tonnes.

This, according to him, indicates that while rice is an important staple food, there is a shortage of this crop in the sub-region. He further pointed out that over one billion dollars expended on rice importation alone could be channelled to other sectors.

The NERICA Dissemination Project is a multi-national project being undertaken by specific West African countries with potential upland rice production ecology. They include: Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra-Leone, Mali, Benin and Guinea.

NERICA is a variety that is disease and pest resistant, but has low input demand and a high yield capacity.

About 18 varieties of the NERICA exist, out of which one – NERICA -1 – has so far been officially released in Nigeria. Many lowland varieties have also been developed and released to farmers in Mali and Burkina Faso.

According to Dada, the NERICA Dissemination Project is being implemented in Kaduna, Ogun, Ondo, Taraba and Ekiti States, with an estimated 65,000 farm families benefiting directly from the scheme. Through increased productivity resulting from input from the families, the Project will go a long way in reducing poverty and boosting food security.

Based on the Presidential Initiative on Rice Production, Processing and Export, Nigeria is expected to:

• Produce six million tonnes of milled rice from 10.3 million tonnes of paddy by 2006
• Cultivate three million hectares of rice land to produce about 15 million tonnes of paddy or 9.0 million metric tonnes of milled rice by 2007.

Meanwhile, Commerce Minister, Alhaji Idris Waziri on 20 June in Abuja said that the policy on 10 percent cassava flour content in bread will commence on 1 July 2005, which is a shift from the earlier announced date of 1 January 2005.

Waziri, who stated this while receiving a delegation of traditional rulers, said that non-availability of cassava flour (arising from inadequate production) was responsible for the shift in date. He also estimated that about N28 billion would be realised from the initiative.

The Minister also requested that the traditional rulers provide land for the setting up of a cassava pilot project, which would have three components: farming, processing and training.

He described the presidential cassava initiative, which started barely a year ago, as successful.