Federal Government moves to reduce illegal importation of rice

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Abubakar, has said the ministry will continue to strategise and collaborate with security agencies to reduce the illegal importation of rice through land borders.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Senior Information Officer in the ministry, Mabel Mbosire at a meeting of the Steering Committee of the National Taskforce on the illegal importation of rice through land borders, in Abuja
The stament revealed that the ban on rice importation had brought about a significant increase in local rice production and unlocked economic opportunities for rice investors in the country.
It noted that the huge improvement in the rice sub-sector needed to be sustained for the country’s economic growth, as signified by the huge contributions of the agricultural sector to the nation’s Gross Domestic Production.