A former chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalist, Osun State Council, Alhaji Ismaila Ayodele has tasked President Muhammadu Buhari and other political leaders of the country on the consumption of locally produced rice.
Ayodele said leading by such an example would encourage other Nigerians to follow suit.
He also asked the Federal and state governments to emulate Anambra in the production of local rice, stressing that it was high time Nigeria faced agriculture squarely.
The former NUJ chairman, who also retired as a director in the Osun State Ministry of Information, disclosed this in a chat with our correspondent in Osogbo.
Ayodele, a seasoned farmer, advised political leaders to consume local rice, stressing that the locally produced rice was better than the imported brand.
He also urged governments at all levels to establish rice mills and re-invigorate existing ones with a view to making surplus rice available for consumption and exportation to other countries.
The ex-NUJ boss advised youths to go into agriculture, saying large concentration on white collar jobs was responsible for the high rate of unemployment in the country.
On how Nigeria could tackle the astronomical increase in the price of rice, Ayodele advised government to work on land clearing system.
According to him, bushes should be converted to farmland while there should be availability of machines that would help in processing rice and making it stone-free.
He said,”The federal and state governments should ensure provision of enough land for farming of rice. They should work on land clearing system and convert bush to farmland.
“The local means of processing rice is too primordial, money-wasting, energy-sapping and too strenuous.
“Our rice is better than imported rice if only the act of removing stones could be improved during processing. I passionately urge governments to make available modern technology and machines for use by farmers.
“They (Federal and state governments) should emulate Anambra and Ebonyi states, which are now producing local rice and making efforts to even export it. We should not have been experiencing this skyrocketing price of rice if government had been pro-active.”
Ayodele said N350billion worth of rice is being consumed in Nigeria annually, adding that this was when the dollar was N165. “So you can imagine what the cost would be now that exchange rate has increased. Nigerians now pray to even eat local rice when the price of the imported one is now high,” he said.
