Ban on rice importation: Public servants urge FG to raise local production

Ban on rice importation: Public servants
urge FG to raise local production
on december 20, 2013 at 4:00 pm in news
Lagos – The Association of Senior Civil Servants
(ASCSN) on Friday advised the Federal Government
to raise local production of rice before enforcing the
ban on its importation.
Mr Basir Lawal, General Secretary of ASCSN, in
Lagos said that the country could produce to meet
the current consumption level of rice.
The government announced the plan to stop the
importation of rice by 2015 as part of efforts to
ensure sufficiency of local production by the current
administration.
Lawal advised the government on the need to get
the local production at optimal level before the ban.
“If the government should implement its policy on
banning importation of rice, it will increase
smuggling and other sharp practices will thrive.
“It will also cause the government to lose billions of
revenue instead of accruing more.
“The income that is supposed to come to the
coffers of the government will be diverted,’’ he said.
Mrs Arike Ishola, a civil servant, said that efforts
should be made to boost local production and
milling so as to end the dependence on food
imports.
Ishola said that the nation had the capacity to
produce enough rice to meet local demand and for
export.
She said that the government should design a
comprehensive programme to meet its set target of
making rice available and cheap for the populace.
Mr Emmanuel Aboh, a civil servant, said that ban on
importation of rice would be more effective if the
policies put in place to boost local production were
harmonised with fiscal policies.
Aboh said that there should be an all-inclusive
strategy along the entire value chain to link the
farmers, millers, marketers and industry to improve
local production.
“We do not support a premature ban on imported
rice until certain minimum conditions are met.
“The first is that local production and milling
capacity must be sufficiently high,” he said.
Aboh advised the government to ensure that its
objectives of banning rice importation to stimulate
job creation, food security, reduction of import bill,
modernise agriculture and foster industrialisation
were met. (NAN)