The Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) on Thursday described the continuous spending of $480 million on importing three tonnes of rice annually as unacceptable.

The NEPC executive director/chief executive officer, Nonye Ayeni, made this known in Lokoja at the opening of a one-day technical support workshop organised for rice farmers and processors in Kogi.

Ms Ayeni said the NEPC has begun implementing strategies to reduce the country’s dependence on rice importation by boosting the local production of the commodity.

The NEPC boss, represented by Aliu Sadiq, a deputy director of the policy and strategy department of the council in Abuja, said the workshop was to encourage sustainable rice production, processing and value addition among farmers and processors.

She said the attention paid to rice production by NEPC was not misplaced, as rice has become one of the major staple food items consumed across the country’s six geographical zones and socio-economic classes.

The executive secretary explained that the workshop was brought to Kogi deliberately because the state ranked the second highest producer of rice in Nigeria, with an annual production of 1.5 million metric tonnes of rice.

She urged rice farmers and processors to imbibe the new skills that will be introduced to them at the workshop and abide by best practices in their farming activities.

Ms Ayeni said the workshop and other measures being put in place by the NEPC and other relevant agencies are in response to the concern recently raised by the World Bank over food insecurity in sub-Saharan African countries, including Nigeria.

” The federal government, under the Renewed Hope Agenda, has demonstrated its commitment towards achieving food sufficiency in Nigeria by addressing critical challenges facing farmers such as security, infrastructure, forex and inputs for increased production,” she said.

She said the NEPC will continue to render necessary support to the SMEs who are the primary beneficiaries of the council’s services.

The executive secretary urged participants to take advantage of the workshop to acquire more knowledge and upscale their rice production and processing skills.

Usenide Aniekpeno, coordinator of NEPC Kogi State coordinating office, in his welcome address, said the workshop underscored Nigeria’s pursuit of strengthening the agricultural value chain with a focus on rice, which he described as one of the country’s most critical and strategic commodities.

Mr Aniekpeno identified challenges such as inefficient production practices, inconsistent product quality, and limited adoption of innovative technologies as some problems facing rice farmers.

Victor Omifaiye, the director-general of the Kogi Commodity Exchange and Export Promotion Agency, spoke of plans by the state government to help farmers access agricultural loans through NEXIM and the Bank of Agriculture.

(NAN)