Nigeria to Begin Rice Exports as RIFAN Signs MoU
The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) and the Tiamin Rice Company have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the processing and sale of rice domestically and abroad.
This information was disclosed on Wednesday in Abuja by Mr Aliyu Ibrahim, the company’s deputy managing director.
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Aliyu said the initiative was aimed at the cultivation of quality rice paddy by RIFAN while Tiamin processes and packages with state-of-the-art milling technology for sale locally and internationally, particularly to Egypt.
He said the MoU would be operational for two years. It was signed at the company’s 600-metric tonnes per hour capacity mill in Bauchi State.
“RIFAN and Tiamin share a common agenda in the area of rice farming and milling. This is to ensure a sustainable supply chain management of rice under a partnership that seeks to produce, mill and package processed rice of the highest quality for export and local trading.”
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“With a combined capacity of 920 tonnes per hour from its two mills in Kano and Bauchi states, Tiamin Rice is one of the largest producers of rice in Nigeria,” Aliyu said.
Making rice available: According to Aliyu, the company also has a 10,000-hectare rice farm in Udubo, Bauchi State. He said large-scale wet and dry season farming takes place on the farm with state-of-the-art agricultural machinery.
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Nairametrics understands that the company has benefited from six financial interventions from the CBN. These interventions are to the tune of over N20 billion. Aliyu said the company had successfully repaid four of the intervention funds.
Aliyu said Tiamin Rice company was the first corporate entity to access the Private Sector-Lead Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme (P-AADS) funds from CBN.
Government’s rice policies: In 2015, the CBN on behalf of the Federal Government placed a ban on 41 imported items (rice included), from accessing foreign exchange from the official window. Also, the government banned the importation of rice through land borders and kept a hefty 70% tariff on imports coming through ports. These actions were taken in a bid to discourage importation and encourage local production.
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Between January and July 2022, Nigeria’s imports of rice from the Thai Rice Exporters Association (TREA), one of the largest rice exporters in the world, decreased by 98.4% to 15 metric tonnes, compared to the 957 metric tonnes imported during the same period in 2021.
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The country’s ongoing flooding is currently threatening the recent advancements made in Nigeria’s rice processing sector. Olam’s rice farm, worth over $15 million, was submerged by the floods, severely harming this year’s rice harvest.
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