Rice importation down 95 percent, smugglers in trouble – Ogbeh

Chief Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, has said that ERGP focus labs have helped agriculture in the area of exportation and farm management.

Ogbeh stated this during the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) Focus Labs Open Day ceremony held in Abuja.
According to him, rice importation was brought down to 95 per cent even though there are still challenges with smugglers, which government will take a definite action on soon.

Ogbeh said that private investment in agriculture was the way to success, adding that government cannot own a farm.
“Government cannot own a farm, if they do, they will fail woefully.
“The key challenges facing agriculture today are access to credit, access to land, land analysis, land management, and security on farms.

“Market access, standardisation, quality control and nutrition, all through these focus labs we have learnt a lot that, if government engages in triangle partnership with private sector great things can happen.
“We don’t have good managers of agriculture, so the ministry has introduced a farm management programme to train the younger ones on farm management,“ he said.