The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) urged the Federal Government (FG) to restart anchor
Anchor Borrowers Program (ABP) to solve rice inflation.
This was affirmed by Mrs Nnenna Ejim, the vice president RIFAN in Abuja on Saturday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Ejim explicitly stated that the current inflation of rice is as a result of the impact of the COVID 19 and Russia Ukraine war,
She stated, “Government policy on anchor borrowers was not implemented last year because of election and other factors like the Covid 19 impact has created a huge gap in rice cultivation hence the hike.”
“The Russian-Ukraine war is affecting us seriously because they are the greatest provider of fertiliser and other input which we are at the moment we have difficulties getting such input.
“The way forward in ensuring a drastic reduction in the price of rice is that the government should prioritise the security of its populace both in the farms and around communities.
“Farmers should be given inputs at subsidised rate and also enlighten farmers on climate-smart agriculture so that they will not risk themselves or production trying to cultivate areas with lots of floods.”
