To fashion out a strategy for increased rice production, stakeholders are expected to converge in Abuja to consider and review issues relating to research, development, seed distribution, irrigation, processing, financing, policy and advocacy.
A document made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja, showed that the participants were drawn from relevant research institutes, seed companies, processors, fabricators, Rice Farmers Association as well as development partners and foreign partners.
NAN learnt that the forum is part of the strategies mapped out by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, to turn around the fortunes of agriculture through produce revolution.
``Government is launching a massive green revolution on rice, aimed at making Nigeria self-sufficient in rice production within the next in four years and the impact to be felt within two years.
``This has become imperative because the import bill between 2007 and 2010 hit N98 trillion and N365 billion of it was for rice import,'' Adesina had said at a forum.
He said that the government would go into import substitution, create conducive policy and encourage investors to come into rice production to boost local production.
Available records showed in the ministry showed that Nigeria consumed five million tonnes of rice annually with local production accounting for 2.21 million tonnes.
NAN recalls that previous initiatives on rice included the NERICA Rice Dissemination Project (NRDP) designed to benefit 65,000 farm families and boost rice production in Nigeria, among others.
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