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Rice farm
T
he Federal Government of Nigeria has proposed to ban impor·
hulan of rice to encourage local rice Ilroduction. Nigerians can start now to prelJare grounds to take over the markel as soon as the policy takes off. The FederaJ Government budget 2012 and 2013 indicated that there would be no waiver for importatJon of rice and wheal Accol"dlng 10 the Presldem. ~1 wish to reiterate here that the principal obJec· tive of my administration'S "seal polley in the area of tariffs and trade Is to promote indUSlrtalLzation and the growth of the manufacturing and agricultural sectors of the economy and above all to generate employment for Nigerians" IT may not be easy for Nigerians but banning of those items that can be prodU!.'e d in the country and encouraging the local production of those items is one the ways to come out of our economic problems. It will generate employment; self·sufficiency in food production; development of rural areas and above aU expon to add to GOP. Rice has become a stalJle in NI~erla Every household both rich and poor consumes a great quantity 0( rice everyda)t Of Ule total projected population figure of lSOmillion, about 80 percent feed on rice, hence the huge amount of money Silent on Imporlntion of rice annual!, From publications made by the Federal Office of Statistics and FederaJ M.1l11stry of Finance, of the total foreign debts and lmponation figures totalling billions of naira. rice importation has tile grelltest figure of over GO per cent Tbe l<'ederal Government of Nigeria must thererore have to do something about this_ It is not advisable to lmpose a tora1 ban on importation without flrSt
assuring that the country can produce alleast 70 per cent of wluu Is needed in thiscounlr}/. It Is based on the above decision, that the government has entered into agreement with the World Bank and ADS to increase the production of rice in lhe country As a result, substantlal WllOunts are being worked out by the bodies to commence massive the production or rice in the cOUntry. Same Individuals are to be encouraged by the go\rernment to ensure UUll the private sector participated in the venture. in the country todax some states produce paddy rice in abundance due to Cavournble climatic condition for rice production_ Some of these states are Enugu, Ebony!. Anrunbra, Ablo., lIno, Kwaru, Edo. Oi:un. Ondo, and SOUle No-thero stales such as Sakoto etc. Rice milling project will best be sited in these areas where rice is grown in or· der to reduce cost of transportation of thepadd)t To set up this project, a large space Is required to dry paddy rice after harvestIng.
The components of machines required to set up this project are cleanIng faclUtles. dehuller, boiling tank, polisher; bagger and other miscellaneous equipment such as wheel barrows. weighing sca1es. Also pickup vans and generating sets are essential for smooth running of this project.
These machines can be fabricated 10call)t They can also be imported from Eurol>C and some known Asian countries IMI specialise in the area_Prospec-
tive investors would be given details on these machine produces and specialists.. Rice milling could be done on c:ottage,
smaH. medlwn and large scale bases depending on availability of capital and the raw materials- paddy rice.. OUtPUt could be from 2MT to l50MT per d.a~ Generally one metrl.c tonne of paddy rice yields about 6Okg- 70kg of milk>d rice. depending on miUing effi· ciency company management practice and the variety of rice purchased. In the process of milllrlg well parboUed rice free from sand, stones, Wlpleasant odour with less breakages, elc from Ilurchased paddy, whole rice, broken rice and bran are obtained. Whole rice are packed and sold for hwnan c:onswnptlon. Broken rice Is further milled intO "'Tuwo Shinkafa" (a flour meal) while bran is very important inPUt for manufacturing dietary products like rice bran bread which has been acclaimed good for the decrease of blood cholesterol. rice bran oU and livestock feeds. From rice can also be obtained puffed rice, rice cakes, rice pudding etc. The husks are used for the production of Potassium Hydroxide solution or as fuel for milling plants. 11 can be seen that vlrtually all partS of paddy rice Is useful From markel analysts. the market for rice is national With the estimated natlon.al population growth rate of 2.9 percent and population figure estimated at over l3Omilllon, Nigeria is a large market and demand is so hl.gh and local supply so low that rice importation into the counuy is a very big business. Hoarding, rationing and smuggling and sharp black market practices were the proOtabUity associated with the business. This situation should not be allowed to continue forever: Those Importers must chaiUleltheir huge returns to the establishment of such prodw:.ing firms in the country instead of fastening the growth of some
foreign countries. The huge demand for rice is funher accentuated by increasing and expanding urbanisation. endless social parties where rice is the m.aln menu. Nigerians eaiing habits (preference for foreign rice). The preference for foreign rice should be slOPped. The likely cost of total pro}ec.t will nol actually be stated safety unless one knows the scope (whether COllage, small. medium or JanIe sca1e) a proposed Investor would like to embark upon, the capacity to produce. the source(s) of the machlnerx whether to c:onstTUct his own building or rent one, the location etc. Therefore to embark upon this proj· ect, one needs a business plan (feasibility studies), with detailed costing for au the aspects of inputs. and before be can obtain the likely total estimated COSL Thdo otherwise Is to take a leap in the dark or take our characteristics short· CUI to distinction that is always nunous. In conclusion, nce milling, an agro based business is profitable (3&45 per cent on sales), and sustainable. It has low capital requirement, technical know how Is complicated_The machinery and equipment are 100 percent locally availabJe. The Ilroject has a shon pay - back period.. It is highly recommended for serious and aggressive promoters, local and state governments and private investors particularly those thai are thinking good for this country For details on comprehensive and bankable feasibility studles, invesonent advisory services, ftmding arrangements, {Jlc.ase COlltact the writer:
Courtesy: Uba Godwin, ubagod win @yahoo. com