Rice Takes a Big Chunk of Household Spending as Nigerians Spent N2 Trillion or $5.2 Billion on the Product in 2019. But Who Are the Producers and Where Are They Located?

Kano (N198 billion), Lagos (N120 billion), Rivers (N99 billion), Oyo (N88 billion), Delta (N77 billion), Kaduna (N76 billion), Katsina (N75 billion), Ogun (N67 billion), Akwa Ibom (N60 billion), Niger (N59 billion) are the top 10 rice consuming centres in Nigeria according to data from NBS. The Agribusiness Register in a new report on rice consumption and production reveals 50 rice mills spread across several states with various capacities. Aside from Kano with a cluster of 15 big and medium-sized mills, Lagos, Rivers, Oyo and Delta do not yet have significant milling clusters to match the huge consumption of finished rice in their States. Lagos, however, is working to correct this.

The construction of Imota Rice Mill in Lagos is ongoing and it is billed to start operations in 2020. Imota rice mill will produce 2.4 million, 50 kg bags of rice annually, and create 250,000 direct and indirect jobs, according to the Ministry of Agriculture officials. It will source paddy from Kebbi and other states. We think significant rice-consuming states like Rivers (N99 billion), Oyo (N88 billion), Delta (N77 billion) and Niger (N59 billion) – also a significant paddy rice producer – should support and facilitate private sector or public-private sector arrangements in rice mill establishment and integration of smallholder farmers into the mix, in their states. The full report will be available soon on the website of the Register.

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