Meeting the rice production and consumption demands of Nigeria with improved technologies

E.D. Imolehin and A.C. Wada¹

National Cereals Research Institute, Badeggi, PMB 8, Bida, Niger State, Nigeria

INTRODUCTION

Rice is the most important staple food for about half of the human race (Hawksworth, 1985). It ranks third after wheat and maize in terms of worldwide production. Rice (Oryza glaberrima Steud) is indigenous to Nigeria and has been cultivated for the past 3 500 years (Hardcastle, 1959). The earliest cultivation of improved rice varieties (O. sativa L.) started in about 1890 with the introduction of upland varieties to the high forest zone in Western Nigeria (Hardcastle, 1959; Atanda et al., 1978). Consequently, by 1960 O. sativa had taken over from O. glaberrima, which is now limited to some deep-flooded plains of the Sokoto-Rima river basin and other isolated pockets of deep swamps all over the country (Atanda et al., 1978., Imolehin, 1991a). With expansion of the cultivated land area to rice, there has been a steady increase in rice production and consumption in Nigeria. The production increase has, however, not been enough to meet the consumption demand of the rapidly growing urban population, who has a great preference for parboiled rice (Singh et al., 1997). This situation led to acute demand for parboiled rice in the 1990s, which contrasted with Nigeria's self-sufficiency in rice during the 1960s.

The 360 000 tonnes of rice produced in the 1960s was enough to meet local demand, but the 1.45 million tonnes produced in the 1990s was not (IRRI, 1991; 1995). Thus, importation of rice rose from 7 000 tonnes in the 1960s to 657 000 tonnes in the 1990s (IRRI, 1991; 1995). This created a serious drain on Nigeria's foreign exchange reserve, which stood at US$407.5 million in the 1960s but dropped to US$58 million in the 1990s (IRRI, 1991). The drain on the foreign reserve led the Nigerian Government to ban rice imports in October 1985.

As well as banning rice imports, other government policies since 1974 were aimed at encouraging and boosting local rice production. Specific programmes include: the National Accelerated Food Production project (NAFPP), set up in 1974; the World Bank-Assisted Development Programmes, set up in 1975; Operation Feed the Nation (OFN), started in 1976; the River Basin Development Authorities (RBDs), established in 1977; the Back to Land Programme (BLP) and the Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructures (DFRRI), both introduced in 1988; and, more recently, the National Land Development Authority (NALDA), dating from 1995.

In spite of these programmes, local rice production has not kept up with the domestic consumption demands of the Nigerian populace and, consequently, rice is still imported (Singh et al., 1997). Inconsistent government policy on rice imports has seriously affected local production. Nigerian farmers reacted to the ban on rice imports in 1985 by starting to prepare and use their fields for rice cultivation, but imported rice was soon back on the market because of another government policy that liberalized rice imports in 1997. This led to another drop in local rice production.

Nigeria, along with many countries across the world, has ecologies that are suitable for different rice varieties and that can be harnessed to boost rice production to meet domestic demands, and even to produce a surplus for export (Anonymous, 1997a). The country has a potential land area for rice production of between 4.6 million and 4.9 million ha. However, only 1.7 million ha, or 35 percent of Nigeria's total land mass, is cropped to rice. The cultivable land to rice is spread over five major ecologies - upland, inland or shallow swamp, irrigated rice, deep water or floating rice, and tidal mangrove or swamp. The latter is not fully developed because there is a lack of appropriate technology (Singh et al., 1997). In spite of the presence of suitable environments, however, Nigeria is not among the leading world rice producers. This article highlights problems that could help to explain the imbalance between rice production and consumption. It also suggests areas of improvement that would boost local rice production to meet domestic demand.

PROSPECTS FOR INCREASED RICE PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA

Rice production ecologies and their potentials

The potential area for rice production in Nigeria is between 4.6 million and 4.9 million ha. This area includes five different rice environments or ecologies (Imolehin, 1991a).

The upland ecology. In the upland ecology, the rice crop depends strictly on natural rains for its growth and productivity. This ecology accounts for 55 to 60 percent of the cultivated rice land and 30 to 35 percent of total national rice production (Singh et al., 1997). Rice yields in the upland ecology are generally low and range from 0.8 to 2 tonnes/ha (IRRI, 1991). The upland ecology accounts for 32 percent of the total rice area in Nigeria (Singh et al., 1997).

Inland or shallow swamp ecology. An estimated 25 percent of Nigeria's rice area is under inland swamp rice production. The rice yield in this ecology is generally high and ranges from 2 to 8 tonnes/ha. It is estimated that this ecology contributes between 43 and 45 percent of national rice production (Singh et al., 1997).

Irrigated rice ecology. The irrigated rice ecology is the most recently developed rice environment in Nigeria. Irrigation is supplied from rivers, wells, boreholes and other sources to supplement rainfall for full rice crop growth (Imolehin, 1991a). This ecology accounts for about 18 percent of cultivated rice land, and yields range from 2 to 4 tonnes/ha. It contributes 10 to 12 percent of the national rice supply (Singh et al., 1997).

Deep water or floating rice ecology. The floating rice ecology constitutes 5 to 12 percent of the national rice production area. The yields in this ecology are very low owing to the predominant use of unimproved rice (O. glaberrinia Steud), which yields less than 1 tonne/ha. The ecology does, however, contribute 10 to 14 percent of the national rice output (Singh et al., 1997).

Tidal (mangrove) swamp ecology. The Nigerian tidal (mangrove) swamp ecology lies between the coastline and the freshwater swamps. It covers a potential 1 million ha of land that would be cultivable for rice, but at present less than 100 ha of this ecology is being developed. The ecology contributes less than 2 percent to national rice production, and has low yields of only about 1 tonne/ha. The development of appropriate technology for expanding and increasing rice production in this ecology is the most urgent issue for attention (Singh et al., 1997).

Rice production trend in Nigeria

Rice production started in Nigeria in 1500 BC with the low-yielding indigenous red grain species O. glaberrima Steud, then widely grown in the Niger delta area (Hardcastle, 1959). The high-yielding white grain O. sativa L. was introduced in about 1890, and by 1960 it accounted for more than 60 percent of the rice grown in the country.

Paddy rice production had risen from 134 000 to 344 000 tonnes in 1970, and area cultivated from 156 000 to 255 000 ha. Paddy rice production has since been on the increase (Table 1). Tremendous increases in area planted, output and productivity in paddy rice production were achieved over the last two decades, and now stand at 666 000 ha, 1.09 million tonnes and 2.07 tonnes/ha, respectively. Since 1980, Nigeria has become the largest rice producing country in West Africa and the third largest in Africa, after Egypt and Madagascar (WARDA, 1996).

By 1990, the country was producing 3.4 million tonnes of rice from about 1.2 million ha (Imolehin, 1991a). This healthy production trend would have been sustained but for the unsteady government policy on rice imports. Increased production over the last two decades could be attributed to the ban imposed on rice imports in 1985 and, if this restriction had been maintained, Nigerian rice farmers would have risen to the challenge of meeting the domestic demand for the commodity. This has not been the case, however, as the Government slackened rice import restrictions in 1997, after which foreign rice flooded back on to Nigerian markets.

Restrictions on rice imports were reintroduced later in 1997, and local production has increased in response to the attractive prices offered.

Rice consumption trend in Nigeria

In the 1960s Nigeria was almost 99 percent self-sufficient in the rice consumed by its citizens. Over the following two decades (1970s and 1980s) self-sufficiency declined to 38 percent, leading to demand outstripping supply. To supplement the 62 percent deficit, the Federal Government of Nigeria resorted to massive importation of rice. More than 540 000 tonnes of rice were imported in 1983 alone (Table 2). Per caput rice consumption rose from 3.5 kg in 1970 to more than14 kg in the 1990s (Anonymous, 1994). This phenomenon was largely the result of increased per caput income, rapid population growth and changes in the tastes and diet of Nigerians. The demand for parboiled rice forced the government to commit a staggering 600 million Nigerian invar (N)² in foreign exchange to milled rice imports in 1985. Understandably, this led to the imposing of a ban on rice imports in October of the same year (Imolehin, 1991a).

MEETING NIGERIA'S RICE PRODUCTION NEEDS

Varietal improvement

Active and systematic rice research started in Nigeria in 1953 with the establishment of the Federal Rice Station at Bade in Niger state, now the headquarters of the National Cereals Research Institute. The focus for rice research at the station was the development of varieties with improved grain quality, uniform shape and sizes appropriate for minimal breakages during milling. These aims were achieved mainly through introduction and adaptation (Imolehin, 1991a). Between 1954 and 1970, 13 improved rice varieties, comprising two upland, eight shallow swamp and three deep flooded rices, were released to Nigerian farmers (Table 3).

From 1971 onwards, research activities on rice focused on developing high-yielding and disease-resistant varieties, the efficient use of nutrients and good soil management. These aims were achieved through introduction, adaptation and hybridization (Atanda et al., 1978; Imolehin, 1991a). Efforts resulted in the release of 16 rice varieties, with the desired traits for pest and disease resistance, nutrition and yield, to Nigerian rice farmers between 1971 and 1984 (Table 4).

The 16 varieties comprised one upland, 12 lowland and three deep water ecology rices. From 1985 to 1989, 14 additional high-yielding blast-resistant varieties, including six upland and three lowland varieties, were released (Table 5). From 1990 to date an additional 11 rice varieties, comprising eight upland and three shallow swamp varieties have been released (Table 6). Thus, from 1954 to date a total of 51 rice varieties have been released to serve the different ecologies and other specific needs in Nigeria. A remarkable effort to develop suitable rice varieties for Nigerian farmers was made in 1997 with the release of FARO 51, a variety that is resistant to the African rice gall midge (ARGM), Orseolia oryzivora Harris and Gagne (Anonymous, 1997a). When grown in an ARGM-endemic area of Abakaliki, the variety exceeded the yields from farmers' varieties by 26 percent (Williams, et al., 1999). Rice production to meet domestic demand can therefore be achieved effectively when improved rice varieties, along with appropriate cultural and management practices, are utilized by Nigerian farmers in all the ecological zones of the country.

Germplasm collection and conservation

Germplasm collection and conservation ensure the preservation of diverse genetic information that can be tapped in a variety of ways and used to evolve varieties with desirable characters. The rice breeding programme started to collect rice germplasm from Nigeria and the rest of the world. This was made possible by the active collaboration of international and national institutes working on rice, including the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the International Network for Genetic Evaluation of Rice for Africa (INGER-Africa), the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Institute for Agricultural Research and Training (IART) in Ibadan.

Some of the rice germplasm collected is conserved at the institute in freezers, but the bulk is stored in IITA's more efficient cold rooms (Imolehin, 1991a). However, since the establishment of the National Centre for Genetic Research and Biotechnology (NAGRAB) at Ibadan, the institute's rice germplasm materials can also be conserved there, from where genetic information is sourced for routine breeding work.

INCREASING RICE PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA

Fifty-one rice varieties have been bred or adapted to suit the various ecological zones of the country - rainfed uplands, flooded plains and irrigated plains. This has been possible because of nationally coordinated rice evaluation trials in which newly bred rices are evaluated for at least three years for desired characteristics. Promising varieties are evaluated further for yield performance in multilocational on-farm adaptive research trials across the country before being released to Nigerian farmers (Imolehin, 1991b). Released varieties also have properties that satisfy different consumer preferences in terms of grain type, swelling capacity, amylose content, protein and cooking time (Table 7). The proper management of these varieties by farmers in the different ecologies will enhance increased rice production.

PROBLEMS FACING EFFORTS TO INCREASE NIGERIAN RICE PRODUCTION

Nigeria has the potential to be self-sufficient in rice production, both for food and industrial raw material needs and for export. However, a number of constraints have been identified as limiting to rice production efforts by farmers. These include problems with research; pests and disease management; soil fertility management; unavailability of simple and cheap farm implements; access to institutional and infrastructural support credit facilities; and inadequate input delivery, marketing channels, irrigation facilities and extension services. Addressing at least most of these problems is a good first step towards attaining the target of rice self-sufficiency.

Research

Rice is currently produced through resource-constrained channels in terms of area cultivated and technology utilized. As a result, the central objective of rice research is to increase production capabilities per unit area at the peasant level, through breeding and the selection of stable and low-level management rices. Appropriate use of these improved and, in most cases, ecology-specific rice varieties by farmers in the different ecologies will boost overall national rice production. The need to develop location-specific varieties for the different ecologies of Nigeria was stressed by Singh et al. (1997).

Pest and disease management

Pests and diseases are important natural factors limiting the production of rice and, in severe cases, they account for 100 percent of crop losses. Singh et al. (1997) give a detailed account of these biotic stresses. Such pest and disease problems as striga in upland rice, leaf scald, neck blast and ARGM need great attention, and recent efforts by rice breeders have resulted in the evolution of blast- and ARGM-resistant rice varieties (Anonymous, 1997a).

Soil fertility management

Improper and long-term use of inorganic fertilizers is detrimental to the soil. However, the rice crop has a critical need for fertilizer, especially nitrogenous forms. Rice farmers have no technical expertise in the use of such fertilizers in terms of type and rate of application, research is therefore focused on the use of alternative organic fertilizer sources to replace the inorganic fertilizers that are not readily available or affordable to the resource-poor rice farmers of Nigeria. Consequently, the use of Sesbania rostrata and other organic fertilizers is being encouraged to boost rice production. Such organic fertilizers are environmentally friendly, unlike the inorganic forms.

Development of simple farm implements

Traditional farm operations, including those for rice production, are carried out with hand tools, which make farming tedious and cumbersome. Low-cost appropriate technologies with maximum benefit-cost ratios are needed by resource-poor rice farmers. Through research, simple, technically feasible and economical planting implements for rice have been developed in recent years (Agidi, 1993). Research efforts should aim at developing other suitable implements for other farm operations such as weeding. In this regard, the use of ox-drawn implements for land preparation, planting and weeding should be improved.

Institutional and infrastructural support for rice production

In order to attain self-sufficiency in rice production in Nigeria, effective and purposeful support systems should be established and be seen to be working. Such support systems include functional credit facilities, improved and timely input delivery, provision of better market channels, development of irrigation facilities and active extension services.

Agricultural production in general has been affected by the ineffective use of loans acquired for specific purposes and by the non-repayment culture of Nigerian farmers. Credit institutions, such as the Nigerian Agricultural and Cooperative Bank (NACB), the People's Bank and community banks involved in loan disbursements to beneficiaries, should be more prudent and conversant with the cash requirements of individual and groups of farmers seeking loans. In this way, the correct use of secured loans will contribute to the overall increase in national rice production.

Input delivery systems, especially for fertilizer have been faulty over the last three decades. Intermediaries have reaped benefits, which could have accrued to farmers, from the provision of fertilizers. The government's recent removal of subsidies on fertilizer is yet to have visible results on farmers' rice productivity. It has, however, at least eliminated intermediaries from fertilizer procurement and distribution. On the other hand, the suddenly high cost of the commodity has encouraged farmers to seek alternative sources for rice nutrition. The overall effect of this on national rice production will become clear in the next couple of years.

When rice imports were banned 15 years ago, Nigerian rice farmers did not gain in the resultant rice production benefits that arose because intermediaries acquired them at the farmers' expense. This probably resulted from a lack of effective marketing channels. Effective marketing systems should be provided at the village level through cooperative groups that fix appropriate prices for rice, which can also be offered to member farmers directly. In this way, more farmers will be involved in rice production and, by implication, national productivity will be increased as farmers get better prices for their rice because of the better marketing channels that have become available and accessible to them.

In recent years, the floodplains of several river basins have been developed for increased rice production through the construction of dams and canals. These facilities have ensured year-round cropping of rice. However, at present only 11 percent of the land thus made available is under rice cultivation and more of the floodplains should be opened up and developed in order to achieve improved rice production (Singh et al., 1997).

Active extension services are key in passing developed technologies on to rice farmers who are the end users. In this regard, new agricultural technologies, such as the 51 rice varieties developed by research, along with other management practices should be disseminated effectively and rapidly by extension systems so that they can be adopted by farmers. The agricultural development programmes and the recent Research-Extension-Farmer Input-Linkage Systems (REFILS) of the National Agricultural Research Priority Project (NARP), which was introduced in 1995, have been instrumental in extending recently developed technologies to rural rice farmers in Nigeria. For example, REFILS have implemented agricultural technologies and improved the delivery of research findings on rice to farmers, with the active participation of national agricultural research institutes (NARIs), the Federal Agricultural Coordinating Unit (FACU) and state ministries of agriculture and natural resources (Anonymous, 1997b). This led many farmers to adopt improved rice varieties with a resultant increase in national output.

CONCLUSION

In achieving modest strides in rice production, research and extension in Nigeria, excellent collaboration work has been done by both national and international organizations such as IITA, WARDA, IRRI, INGER-Africa and IART. Cooperative collaborative work with these institutions has been the bedrock for improved technologies developed for the attainment of increased rice production in Nigeria. Sustenance of this trend will ensure the country's success in its bid to meet the rice production and consumption demands of its citizens in the new millennium.

REFERENCES

Agidi, G. 1993. The making of a practical engineer. Sunday Tide, 10 Jan. 1993, p. 11.

Anonymous. 1994. Rice consumption. In IRRI Rice Facts, 1994. Los Baños, the Philippines.

Anonymous. 1996. Estimated area and yield per hectare of major crops. In Digest of Statistics, p. 242-243. Abuja, Nigeria, Federal Office of Statistics.

Anonymous. 1997a. Research highlights. In Nigeria Agricultural Research Project (NARP) World Bank Assisted 1997 Annual Report, p. 3.

Anonymous. 1997b. Extension: REFILS. In National Agricultural Research Project (NARP) World Bank Assisted 1997 Annual Report, p. 10.

Anonymous. 1997c. Characterisation of released rice varieties FARO 1 to 50. National Cereals Research Institute Nationally Co-ordinated Rice Research Project.

Anonymous. 1998. Foreign Trade Statistics. Abuja, Nigeria, Federal Office of Statistics.

Atanda. O.A., Ayotade, R.A., Fagade, S.O., Awoderu, V.A. & Olufowote, J.O. 1978. Nigeria. In I.W. Buddenhagen and G.J. Persley, eds. Rice in Africa: Proceedings of a Conference held at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, p. 338-339. Ibadan, Nigeria, 7-11 Mar. 1977.

Ayotade, K.A. 1991. Improvement of rice production in Nigeria 1969 to 1989 and beyond. Paper presented at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ilorin Seminar, Ilorin, Nigeria, 29 May 1991. 35 pp.

CBN. 1997. Annual Report and Statement of Accounts ended 31 Dec. 1997. Central Bank of Nigeria.

Hardcastle, J.E.Y. 1959 The Development of rice production and research in the Federation of Nigeria. Trop. Agric. (Trinidad), 36: 79-95.

Hawksworth, D.L. 1985. Foreword. In S.H. Ou, ed. Rice diseases. CMI Slough, UK, CAB. 380 pp.

Imolehin, E.D. 1991a. Rice improvement and production in Nigeria. Paper presented at WARDA Upland Breeding Task-Force Workshop, Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire, 4 Oct. 1991.

Imolehin, E.D. 1991b. Co-ordinated Rice Evaluation Trials (CRET) report.

IRRI. 1991. World Rice Statistics, p. 34-42.

IRRI. 1995. World Rice Statistics, p. 34-42.

Ojehomon, O. 1989. Quality of recommended rice varieties grown in Nigeria. A Seminar paper delivered at the National Cereals Research Institute, Badeggi, Nigeria. 10 Nov. 1989.

Singh, B.N., Fagade, S., Ukwungwu, M.N., Williarn, C., Jagtap, S.S., Oladimeji, O., Effisue, A. & Okhidievbie, O. 1997. Rice growing environments and biophysical constraints in different agroecological zones of Nigeria. Met. J., 2(1): 35-44.

WARDA. 1996. Rice trends in sub-Saharan Africa: a synthesis of statistics on rice production, trade and consumption. UK, Sayce Publishing.

Williams, C.T., Ukwungwu, M.N., Singh, B.N., Odhidievbie, O. & Nnabo, J. 1999. Farmer-managed trials in south-east Nigeria to evaluate the rice variety Cisadane and estimate yield losses caused by the African rice gall midge, Orseolia orvzivora Harris and Gagne. Pest Management, 45(2): 117-124.

Satisfaire la demande de production et de consommation de riz du Nigéria
en adoptant certaines technologies améliorées

Le riz (Oryza glaberrima Steud) est originaire du Nigéria où il est cultivé depuis 3 500 ans. Des variétés améliorées O. sativa L., et notamment des variétés de riz pluvial, ont été introduites dans les forêts d'altitude du Nigéria occidental, aux alentours de 1890. Vers 1960, les variétés d'O. sativa avaient pratiquement supplanté O. glaberrima dont la culture est maintenant circonscrite à certaines plaines inondées du bassin du Sokoto-Rinia et à certains marais profonds isolés, disséminés sur tout le territoire. Avant le boom pétrolier des années 70, le Nigéria produisait d'importantes quantités de riz qui couvraient 99 pour cent de ses besoins de consommation internes. À partir de 1980, toutefois, la situation a évolué et l'autonomie du pays n'est plus assurée maintenant qu'à hauteur de 60 pour cent. Le présent document souligne les divers efforts des politiques qui se sont succédé pour enrayer le déclin de la production de riz. Il insiste aussi sur le rôle joué par la recherche et la vulgarisation, ainsi que par la participation des agriculteurs à l'adoption de technologies améliorées.

Cubierta la demanda de producción y consumo de arroz en Nigeria
con la mejora de algunas tecnologías

El arroz (Oryza glaberrima Steud) es nativo de Nigeria y se ha venido cultivando durante los últimos 3 500 años. En torno a 1890 se introdujeron en la zona de montes altos de Nigeria occidental mejores especies arroceras de O. sativa L., en especial de variedades de montaña. Para 1960, las variedades de O. sativa habían casi conseguido predominar sobre la O. glaberrima, limitadas ahora a algunas llanuras inundadas profundas de la cuenca del río Sokoto-Rinia y algunas bolsas aisladas de manglares profundos en toda Nigeria. Antes de los años de gran prosperidad petrolera de la década de los setenta, Nigeria producía una fuerte cantidad de arroz que cubría el 99 por ciento de las necesidades de consumo del país. Desde 1980 hasta la fecha, en cambio, la situación ha variado y la autosuficiencia del país ha descendido a un 60 por ciento aproximadamente. En el artículo se destacan los múltiples esfuerzos desplegados por el Gobierno con sus sucesivas políticas para hacer frente a la baja de la producción arrocera; se pone de relieve la función de la investigación y la extensión, así como la participación complementaria de los agricultores en la adopción de técnicas mejoradas.

¹ The authors would like to thank the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA), Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire, for providing funds for the Upland Rice Breeding Task Force Workshop for which this paper was prepared. They also thank the management of the National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI).

² U$S1 = approximately N 1.05, July 2000.