If local rice manufacturers have their way, Nigeria’s borders should remain closed. Stakeholders in the rice value chain are smiling to the bank as a result of the partial border closure, writes SINA FADARE

PLAYERS in the rice value chains have cause to smile in the last few months because of the partial closure of the borders to stop Nigerian markets being saturated with some imported goods, particularly rice.

In the past, the country was a dumping ground for various agro-allied products, a situation that discouraged commitment to home-grown agricultural enterprises.

Despite the desperate actions of smugglers in their nefarious trade to smuggle a lot of agricultural products into the country, the security agencies were equal to the task and did expose some of their shady deals.

The economic advantage derived from the action has encouraged President Muhammadu Buhari to declare in his recent visit to London that there was no going back on his decision.

According to him, he would not watch youths being destroyed through cheap hard drugs, and compromised security caused by unbridled influx of small arms.

“When most of the vehicles carrying rice and other food products through our land borders are intercepted, you find cheap hard drugs and small arms, under the food products. This has terrible consequences for any country,” he said.

On time frame for re-opening the borders, President Buhari said it would not happen till the final report of a committee set up on the matter was submitted and considered.

“We will get things sorted out. Our farmers, especially those who grow rice, now have a market, and are happy, and we are also concerned about hard drugs and weapons.

All over the world, majority of the advanced economies had one time or the other, embarked on a stringent economic policy such as closing their borders in order to discourage turning their country into a dumping ground.

“Japan, at a time, employed this method ditto the United States of America (USA). That was why two years ago, former Ebony State Commissioner for Information, Senator Emmanuel Onwe cried out that something drastic should be done in order to protect the growth of rice value chain in the country.

Onwe, who is a big-time rice farmer lamented that “smuggling is a serious challenge to the sustenance of the current agricultural revolution in the country. Not only that rice is being smuggled, virtually everything is being smuggled. And this is killing the excellent agricultural policy of the Federal Government.

He said: “The porosity of our borders and the lackluster control of the ingress of smuggled food products and the egress of smuggled petroleum products are strangulating the already sterile economy.”

At present, it’s obvious that the trend has changed as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrower Scheme was enunciated as an elixir for dwindling fortunes of Nigerian.

The scheme, which was launched by President Buhari in 2015, was designed to empower the farmers and ensure food security.

According to the Director, Corporate Affairs of the CBN, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, over 2.5 million farmers have benefited from the scheme in about 17 agricultural commodities.

Corroborating Okoroafor’s assertion, the Chairman of Rice Farmers’ Association of Nigeria, (RIFAN), Niger State branch, Mr. ldris Abini pointed out that the closure of the borders has given them hope and with the boom in rice production locally, the President should sustain the policy.

He said: “The border closure was a right decision because it is already enhancing wealth creation among farmers as consumers are beginning to patronise our local rice.”

Abini, who expressed optimism that with the current report from all their members throughout the country, the policy would succeed as the government was providing the enabling environment for agriculture to thrive by supporting farmers with inputs and implements.

“The Federal Government has demonstrated this through the CBN Anchor Borrowers’ Scheme which allows farmers to access more loans even when previous ones have not been fully repaid,” he said.

Corroborating Abini’s view, the Chairman of RIFAN in Kebbi State, Alhaji Muhammad Augie noted that there was a mission before the border was closed and the situation on ground indicates that the mission has been accomplished.

“Now, a lot of people who ordinarily will not patronise our rice have been doing so since they want to be relevant in the market and get something doing. In the process, farmers now sell their rice with ease,” he said.

In a telephone chat with The Nation, Augie noted that since Nigerians now consume the local rice, the farmers are now doubling their efforts in order to meet the market demand. There is sufficient rice to eat locally throughout the year.

He further explained that rice farmers numbering 80,000 in the state have the opportunity to access the CBN anchor programme which has assisted them to remain operational despite the challenges facing them.

“Most of the farmers are small-scale farmers who, on their own, cannot afford some of the inputs. But with the anchor programme, they receive these inputs.  During the dry season they were opportune to access fund from the apex bank to do their farming and with the situation on ground we are getting good yields,” he said.

Augie further said though what is being produced is being consumed locally, the future is bright all things  being equal, even as he noted that in the next two years if the Federal Government sustains the laudable programmes, the country can grow rice for export.

Giving an insight into the danger of consuming a product you do not know how it was made and packaged, the Customs boss, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) during a stakeholders’ meeting, explained that the closure of the border was not to hurt anybody but to protect the interest of the country.

He said: “Our interest is to make sure that our country is secure, the well-being of our people is ensured and our economy is secure. The step we have taken is in the interest of Nigeria; the step is not to hurt anybody but to protect our own interests as a nation.”

He lamented that “we are consuming expired foreign rice and when it causes cancer, we begin to look for who to blame. What they do is that they polish the rice, re-bag them for unsuspecting consumers. That is what we eat.”

Shedding more light on why the country is not in a hurry to re-open the border, the CBN Boss, Godwin Emefiele said in order to consolidate its current economic gains, the borders have to remain closed for a while so that smuggling of goods from these countries which undermines Nigeria’s economy would stop.

Emefiele pointed out that “we are not saying that the borders should be closed in perpetuity, but that before the borders are re-opened, there must be concrete engagements with countries that are involved in using their ports and countries as landing ports for bringing in goods meant for local consumption, it is understandable.”

He explained that before the closure of the borders, the Rice Processors’ Association of Nigeria had  nothing less than 25,000 metric tons of milled rice which they could not sell due to saturation of the market with imported rice from Republic of Benin, adding that just after a few weeks of closure of the border, all the rice were sold.

The CBN boss said the closure of the border has brought good tiding to the Nigerian economy.

“So, when you asked what the benefit of the border is closure on the economy of Nigeria, I just used two products – poultry and rice. The benefit is that it has helped to create jobs for our people, it has helped to bring the integrated rice milling that we have in the country back into business again and they are making money.

“Our rural communities are bubbling because there are activities because rice farmers are able to sell their paddy. The poultry business is also doing well, and also maize farmers who produce maize from which feeds are produced are also doing business. These are the benefits,” he said.