Assessing the Potential and Policy Alternatives for Achieving Rice Competitiveness and Growth in Nigeria

Abstract

The principal objective of this paper is to review and assess the policy implications and potential for Nigeria to transform its domestic rice sector and become more competitive with imports in order to ultimately displace them over time. Preliminary results show that import restrictions alone will not be effective at achieving self-sufficiency in rice production. While there is a huge potential to increase the competitiveness of local rice, even this will not be sufficient to displace imports in the short and medium term. This is especially true so long local varieties cannot compete on quality and post-harvest processes remain inadequate for milling, packaging, and branding.

Keywords: Nigeria, West Africa, Africa South of Sahara, Africa, rice, imports, self sufficiency, import controls, competitiveness, value chains, rice value chain, import restrictions