The minister made this known in a statement by the senior information officer in the ministry, Obe Mbosire Mabel, at a meeting with members of the steering committee of the national task force on illegal importation of rice through land borders in Abuja.
Expressing concern over the increasing rate of rice smuggling, Dr Abubakar noted that huge improvement in the rice sub-sector needs to be sustained as it had made a significant contribution to the country’s GDP in line with the federal government’s diversification policy.
“The resumed smuggling of foreign rice, especially through the land borders is constituting a serious threat to these achievements, therefore, if the smuggling is left unchecked it will jeopardise all government efforts to enhance the domestic rice industry and make them ineffective,” he said.
He pointed out that the federal government and private sectors have invested a lot of resources in rice production and processing over the years because of the government’s commitment to the development of the sub-sector through various interventions.
He maintained that the nation’s rice industry has recorded significant progress in terms of investment due to increase in the quality and quantity of milled rice and has in turn, increased the competitiveness, consumer preference and patronage of locally milled rice.