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Afric TV24 - News Update
The Federal Government said on Thursday that it had trained enumerators and supervisors to conduct a baseline survey to improve the rice value chain in Plateau.
The training was facilitated by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD).
Afric TV24 - News Update
The Federal Government said on Thursday that it had trained enumerators and supervisors to conduct a baseline survey to improve the rice value chain in Plateau.
The training was facilitated by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD).
Dr Peter Atser, the consultant who trained the enumerators, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos, said that the exercise was part of the Federal Government's Agriculture Transformation Agenda (ATA) to boost rice production in the country.
Atser said: ``The enumerators and their supervisors are expected to go to selected communities and collect data from individuals and even organisations that constitute the rice value chain.
``Rice value chain is a conglomeration of individuals and organisations that have one activity or the other to do from the point of production of rice to the last point where it is consumed as food.
``A lot of people are involved in the chain; you have the primary producers who are the farmers, the transporters, the processors, inputs dealers, marketers, financial institutions, research institutions and consumers.’’
The consultant stated that the data, when collected, would assist the Federal Government know the challenges confronting every member of the chain, with a view to overcoming them.
``Before you know how to intervene, you must know where the problems are; where the strengths are and where the weaknesses are; how do I come in and how much will it take me to come in to make progress,’’ he said.
Atser explained that eight communities were selected in four local government areas of Plateau with two communities from each local government, based on their comparative advantage in rice production.
``In Shendam Local Government, the communities selected are Bakin Kogi and Shimakeri; in Mikang local government, we have Piapung and Lifidi; Jenta and Lankap are selected in Qua’anpan LG, while Sabon Gida and Faya were chosen in Langtang South LG,’’ he said.
Mr Luka Kefas, the Director of Technical Services, Plateau Agricultural Development Programme, lauded the Federal Government’s ATA, noting that the glory of agriculture as the mainstay of the Nigerian economy would soon be restored.
Kefas, who is also a team member of the rice value chain of ATA, said that the data from the baseline survey would give a guide to government for intervention in the value chain.
He noted that the rice value chain was facing several problems, but expressed optimism that the steps being taken by government, would help in resolving the issues.
``One of the problems of the local rice is that it usually has a lot of stones and that makes people to prefer the foreign one.
``But with the Federal Government rice transformation agenda, 100 integrated rice processing machines were acquired for rice processing and this problem will soon be addressed.
``With these machines, the local rice will now compete favourably with the foreign ones and that will have an overwhelming effect on rice production,’’ he said. (NAN)
