Price of rice will fall by November – FG

The Federal Government on Monday said the price of rice would start to fall from November this year.
This was revealed by the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, who said more Nigerians had returned to their various farms, adding that by the next harvesting season next month, the price of rice would start to crash.
Ogbeh said this when he met with members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development at the headquarters of the ministry in Abuja.
He said: “We will not encourage rice importation and there is no way our ministry or government can be involved in importing rice when we are working hard to be self-sufficient in local production.
“By November when the full-scale harvest starts, rice prices will fall.”
On why the ministry was yet to start implementing its capital budget, Ogbeh said: “It is about now that the capital expenditure is beginning.
“One of the reasons why money is not circulating is that we need to follow the due process on issues of procurement, advertisement and others.
“You may be surprised to know that only six to seven states in Nigeria are showing enthusiasm in agriculture.
“Some by nature don’t seem interested, while others just can’t connect with whatever we are doing at the federal level.”