Ghana National Council

Based on this, industry operators are divided on the policy. Some have cautioned government to realize that if it is unable to guarantee the cultivation of local rice brands (Abakaliki, Bida, Ofada, etc.) in the right quality and quantity, the ban could lead to food crisis and other problems, which could have dire consequences on the country.

Ghana, however, reduced its levy on the importation of rice from 40%, which was to make rice imports expensive to encourage patronage of Ghanaian rice, to 25% last year.

This has resulted in the influx of cheap foreign rice brands into the country, killing the market for the locally produced brands.

Rice imports, operators argued, should be seen as providing a competitive environment needed to mobilize entrepreneurship for the development of the rice sector.   It should therefore not be banned outright.

Operators noted that facts on the ground in the Nigerian rice sector show that to rush to ban rice import at this point in time may not solve the underlying problem of an archaic, small-scale, inefficient agricultural sector.

“The solution to the problem is a well-thought out, consistently executed, long-term rice sector policy. Such a strategic policy will increase local rice market share, capture current reward to quality, increase efficiency in rice production, processing and marketing, and reduce the cost of local rice.

Furthermore, allowing rice import of the quality and quantity will bring about a situation where Nigeria (as in Britain) could serve as a conurbation for rice packaging, local value added and re-export. This would bring in billions and billions of non-oil export earnings. “Britain, for example, does not grow a grain of rice. Yet it has become a major rice re-export zone to the rest of Europe and Africa,” sources said.

However, others support the move and one of such is ChurchGate (Nigeria) Ltd., an arm of the ChurchGate group, which says it has gone far in its plans to set up rice farms in five states of the federation for local production.

Executive Director of the company, Mr. Jerome U. Shogbon, who disclosed this to newsmen in Lagos, said they are already talking with five states to commence local rice production.

This, he said, is in support of government’s policy thrust to boost local industry. He stated that the affected states are Ondo, Kwara, Niger, Ebonyi and Lagos, explaining, “While the rice farms will be established in outer States, the rice mill will be sited in Ikorodu industrial estate, Lagos.”

Shogbon, whose company is into importation of various rice brands from Thailand and India, declared, “We are in the process of setting up our rice mills and rice farms, and we have started talking to 5 states for partnership on the projects, which will take off soon.

On smuggling of rice brands into the country through the borders, Shogbon said, “ChurchGate and other genuine importers of rice are not resting on their oars. We are trying to get patrolling vans for the Nigeria Customs Service so that they can police the borders more effectively.”

He stressed the need for government to harmonize the ECOWAS tariff on rice.

Pointing out the wide gap between the tariffs in the country and that of Cotonu, Rep. of Benin, he said the duty paid in Cotonu, for instance, was much lower at about 5%, compared to the 110% in Nigeria.

“Tariffs harmonization,” he said, “will go a long way to discourage and end smuggling of rice into the county.”