Nigeria has generated an estimated N102.6 billion as revenue from the sale of rice produced locally by farmers under the Anchor Borrower Programme (ABP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

This was contained in the report  on Growth and Employment in States (GEMS4) on Nigeria’s rice production which was released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The report which is funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) and titled “Mapping of Rice Production Clusters in Nigeria,” reveals that the country is on the verge of attaining rice sufficiency.

A breakdown of the report revealed that total rice production in Nigeria in 2016 was estimated to be 17,487,562 metric tons after about 12.4 percent was wasted due to post-harvest losses.

This consequently left a total of 5.7 million metric tons of milled rice, bringing the nation’s rice production closer to the 7 million metric tons projected for 2016.

“The 2016 total paddy production estimate was put at 17.5 million tons with a marketing surplus of 11.4 million tons, just below the national demand for rice which was projected to reach 7 million in 2016,” the report said.

“This implies that the country is progressing towards its goal of self-sufficiency,” the report added.

The report which relied on the 2015 Agricultural Production Survey (APS) of 18 states based on their contribution to national rice production, showed that Kebbi State led with 3.56 million tons for the wet and dry season, followed by Kano at 2.82 million metric tons.