The Chairman of the committee for the sales of paddy rice in Taraba state, Mallam Rabiu Mamman, has said that the price of the commodity would soon crash following the release of 26,000 bags of paddy rice by the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Taraba to millers.
He said, in an interview with North-East Trust in Jalingo, that the objective was to meet domestic needs of rice consumers in the country.
Mallam Rabiu said a ban on importation of the commodity into the country has created an opportunity for local farmers to earn more through rice farming.
According to him, the federal government, through its Anchor Borrowers Programme, has provided farm inputs and money as loan to rice farmers, which attracted more farmers into the cultivation of the commodity in the state. He stated that the 26,000 bags of paddy rice was provided by farmers who benefited from the 2020 dry season rice farming loan granted to over 9000 farmers in the state.
The chairman said the government has directed that the paddy rice be sold at N11,000 as against N15,000 per bag being sold in the markets.
He said the reduction in the price of paddy Rice will not only make rice available in the market but will bring down the price of local rice in the state
Mallam Rabiu commended beneficiaries of 2020 Anchor borrowers programme for repaying the loan given to them in good time.
