In Niger State, some well-to-do people and groups are said to be luring rice farmers with mouth-watering offers and buying off entire ready to harvest crops on the farms, Daily Trust has learnt.
The merchants often target enterprising young farmers with their offers which they find irresistible.
At Kwakuti, in Paikoro Local Government Area, a notable rice hub, 25-year-old Abdulkadir Muhammad, confirmed the development which, he said the elders and traditional rulers have described as a ‘disturbing’ trend.
He took our correspondent on a motorcycle to a large expanse of rice farm which was almost ready for harvest on the outskirts of the town. He said a Zaria-based big-time farmer, who supplied rice to big corporations had approached him at the beginning of the farming season with cash offer of over N2 million for mass production of the crop.
Muhammad is not the only farmer to have handled such deal as several youngsters in the area, have been made similar offers. The merchant was said to have handed over the money without any paper work confident that the farmers would deliver even beyond expectation with the money in their kitty. He did not even return until it was close to harvest time. “It was when the rice was almost ready for harvest that I have to call and intimate him!” Abdulkadir exclaimed.
He alone harvested 150 bags for the merchant, whose identity he was determined to protect. “Oga, he is our benefactor; I have never counted N200,000 at once before until we met him,” he stated.
Like Abdulkadir, 24 year-old Muhammad Rabiu Madaki and 25-year-old Ibrahim Abdulkareem told similar stories of how their statuses have greatly changed with the patronage of such benefactors.
Across the Minna-Suleja highway in Kwakuti town, one of the merchants maintained a warehouse where such products are assembled before being moved to their destinations.
Work on the all-brick facility, which commenced last year has since been completed. Abdulkadir told our correspondent that the facility, which was obviously built by one of clients, was ready for use.
Like in Kwakuti, rice merchants and corporate organisations are also taking advantage of the federal and state governments rice revolution programme through the Fadama III Additional Financing.
They are dangling millions of naira before rice farmers in production clusters around the rice belt in Katcha, Lapai, Lavun, Gbako, Edati, Mokwa, Wushishi, Agaie, Gurara and Magama local government areas. At the Magajin Gari cluster in Lavun Local Government Area, Gimba and Hussaini Usman told our correspondent that their clients are mostly big merchants from outside the state.
“We no longer deal with small time rice traders,” Hussaini acknowledged. Gimba tells the story of how a “big company” based in Kano sent money even before the harvest season sets in.
Like in Magajin Gari, moneybags and corporate organizations across the country are tempting young rice farmers with mouth-watering offers in most of
the clusters. Chairman of Logunma cluster in Agaie Local Government Area, Mr. John Ndagi, said a rice farm in Kano approached the group with a N250 million contract offer last year.
Our correspondent learnt that a total of 43 rice production clusters made up of 7,428 farmers were registered by the state Fadama Coordination Office between 2015 and 2016 wet and dry seasons alone, while more than 4,000 farmers were registered and mobilised for the wet season in 2017.
This does not include rice farmers outside the Fadama programme. However despite the mass production of the produce, the prices are still high within the state.
Daily Trust’s findings show that the price of a mudu (measure) of Kwakuti rice adjudged to be the best locally processed rice in the country is N550.
Experts are of the belief that although the state occupies topmost position in rice farming, lack of modern processing plants and proper government regulations, have denied farmers reaping good money for their efforts.
