Nigeria sets up task force on improved rice, wheat production

The Nigerian government set up a panel on Tuesday made up of agriculture sector leaders and politicians as part of its attempt to increase rice and wheat production, the vice president’s office said.

Nigeria is the world’s second largest importer of rice and among the biggest buyers of U.S. wheat. The government aims to reduce its annual food import bill of $20 billion and create jobs by boosting the agriculture sector.

The panel – whose members include rice and wheat trade union leaders, as well as the agriculture minister – will set production targets for rice and wheat, determine the need for government support and establish deadlines for goals to be met.

“What we are trying to achieve is that agriculture is our mainstay and we are trying to evolve a strategy for our economy, a strategy for employment and a strategy for feeding our people,” said Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

He made the comments on Tuesday at the launch of the panel, which the government has called a “task force”.

In 2012 Africa’s most populous nation imported 2.3 million tonnes of rice – a record high, say U.N. statistics which also show some 4.1 million tonnes of wheat was brought into Nigeria in the same year – nearly double the amount imported in 2000.

A policy document seen by Reuters late last year showed the government aims to be self-sufficient in both rice and wheat production within three years.