The Central Bank of Nigeria has reached a partnership with the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria in Bida to reduce the market price of rice.
Coordinator, RIFAN and CBN special project in Niger State, Malam Idris Usman, announced this in Bida at the inauguration of the 2021 wet season distribution and sale of paddy rice to farmers. He said the measure was geared towards economic recovery efforts of the Federal Government.
Usman said, “We have set up our machinery to checkmate prices of rice in the market. We are going to agree with the CBN on what should be the result of whatever will be the price of rice for consumers in the market.
“Here we want to assure you that we will uphold that any miller who has benefitted from this recovery and sells a kobo above the price that we have agreed upon will be prosecuted.
“Today, under the directive of the CBN, we have inaugurated a committee for the recovered paddy rice from the rice millers to be able to drastically review the cost of rice in the market.”
The RIFAN coordinator said that in the state, 32,000 rice farmers had been engaged to cultivate 50,000 hectares of land with inputs through the support of the Federal Government and the CBN.
He said that about 10 per cent of the paddy rice had been recovered from the farmers.
