THE Federal Government of Nigeria is currently looking at plans to approve, through an Executive Order, the importation of paddy rice to millers to stem the growing tide of food inflation across the country.
According to media reports, the Federal Government will also consider the importation of maize and rice seeds to farmers to boost production output in these staple crops.
This is contained in the draft of the Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan (ASAP) recently submitted by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun to the President.
The document recommended to the President, a slew of Executive Orders to boost the effectiveness of the ASAP across different segments reflecting the current economic problems bedevilling the country.
These include Executive orders on inflation reduction, employment generation, non-oil export promotion, prudent financial management, and tax information consolidation.
On inflation reduction, the document recommends the following; Import duty & VAT suspension on specified items, importation of paddy rice by millers, and import duty exchange rate peg.
On support plans for individual and commercial farmers across the country, the document recommended that within the first month of implementation, the Federal Government should approve “for immediate importation of Rice and Maize seeds; Rice– 10,000MT (100,000Ha), Maize – 10,000MT (500,000Ha); and onboard 2 million farmers across four value chains successfully to enhance productivity and sustainability.”