Nigeria has made a bold step in the production of rice after overtaking Egypt as the largest producer in Africa.
Rice
The Director General of the Africa Rice Center, Benin Republic has stated that Nigeria has overtaken Egypt as the largest rice producer in Africa.
Roy-Macauley, told The Nation that Nigeria is now the largest rice producer at 4 million tonnes a year.
Egypt was producing 4.3 tonnes annually but production has reduced by almost 40 percent this year, and this was attributed to the Egyptian government’s decision to limit cultivation to preserve water resources.
Egypt rice cultivation requires about 1.8 billion metres of water in evaporation, transpiration and irrigation each year.
Africa produces an average of 14.6 million tonnes of rough rice annually.
He said there were efforts to increase overall rice production in Africa but expressed doubts that it will curb rice importation as population has increased across the continent.
He said consumers are looking for rice that safe and certified.