Rice Farming in Nigeria: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners

Rice farming in Nigeria is a lucrative business because is one of the most popular foods and acceptable in every part of the country. In Nigeria, rice consumption has been massively increasing over the years because of the ever increasing population. It is consumed in every part of the country and it’s either prepared as white rice, coconut rice, fried rice, jollof rice, or processed into the traditional dish Pate. Rice is cooked majorly by boiling and it can be ground into flour. It is eaten alone and in a great variety of soups, side dishes, and as main dishes. It could be processed into other products like breakfast noodles, cereals and alcoholic beverages.

Rice farming in Nigeria is common in the northern part of the country but the major rice producing States in Nigeria are Kano State, Gombe State, Niger State, Kebbi State, Ebonyi State, Anambra State, Nasarawa State, and Ogun State. Rice is cereal crop that is cultivated on land that is waterlogged. The volume of water ranges from 5 to 50 cm.
Rice can be classified in terms of their color from brown to white as it has implication on their nutritional status. Brown rice has more nutritional content than white rice because they are less processed and they retain more nutritional value in the form of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It can also be classified into different varieties in terms of size which are long grain, medium grain, short grain, sweet, aromatic, Arborio.
Rice, Oryza sativa (Asian rice) or (African rice) is one of the world’s most important cereals, being the staple food for over 50% of the world population (Ogundele & Okoruwa, 2006; Samarendu, 2013). Rice is indispensable in the strategy for food security in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), because it provides 27% of the energy and 20% of protein needs in developing countries, including African countries (Seck, 2007; Tollens, 2007). In Nigeria, per capita consumption of rice in the 1980’s is put at 18kg (Akpokodje, Lancon & Erenstein, 2001) and reached 22kg between 1995 and 2000 (Ogundele & Okoruwa, 2006). In 2005, average per capita consumption was between 24-28kg and represents 9% of total caloric intake per annum (Ochigbo, 2011).
In Sub-Saharan Africa, West Africa is the leading producer and consumer of rice and accounts for 64.2% and 61.9% of total production and consumption, respectively (Longtau, 2003). Nigeria is one of the largest producers and a leading consumer of rice in West Africa. (AfricaRice), 2005. In 2008, Nigeria accounted for 48% of the total rice output in West Africa, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 2009). United States Department of Agriculture/Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS, 2007) reports also that Sub-Saharan Africa (in volume terms) is the largest importing region in the world, with average annual imports in excess of 7.4 million metric tons. In Nigeria, total consumption of rice stands at about 5.4 million metric tonnes annually while output is about 3.8 million tons International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), 2008). The deficit in production is made up by massive importation of milled rice to bridge the gap between domestic demand and supply. Nigeria’s rice processing capacity is 2.8 million tons of paddy annually Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), 2013). Nigeria is one of the world’s major importers of rice (Akinbile, 2010). In 2011/2012 estimates, Nigeria was the largest importer of rice in the world, accounting for about 3.4 million metric tons (USDA/FAS, 2014).
Rice grows across all agro-ecological zones (AEZ) in Nigeria (African Rice Centre (Africa Rice), 2011). Longtau (2003) classified six rice-growing environments (RGEs) in Nigeria as; Upland, Hydromorphic, Rain-fed lowland, irrigated lowland, deep inland water, and Mangrove swamps. Farmers adopt a particular rice production system based on the topography, input, expected output and returns. However, growth in rice production in SSA has been due to an expansion of the area under cultivation rather than to an increase in yield (Stryker, 2010). Imolehin and Wada (2000) put potential hectares of rice production at 4.6 – 4.9 million ha and actual production at 1.7 million ha. The difference between potential and actual yields is very high. However, there is conflicting information on average yields from different sources. (Africa Rice. 2011), reports that in 2008 Nigeria had an increase in rice production of 31.2% over 2007 figures.

RICE PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA

Rice production in Nigeria is largely produced by peasant farmers that produce rice mainly for their consumption and have little or none left for sales. The rice produced by the peasant farmers is most times not properly processed. This is because most farmers produce rice for their personal consumption. Despite that, Nigeria is the highest rice producing country in West Africa of around 3million tons per annum but also the highest rice importing country globally.
In this case, the percentage of commercial farmers is very small but due to the ever increasing population, general acceptance and increasing consumption rate, rice production in Nigeria has been greatly enhanced. That is a huge assurance of the profitability of rice farming in Nigeria.
Normally short duration varieties take 100−120 days, medium duration 120−140 days, and long duration 160 days or more. However, most varieties take 60−65 days from panicle initiation to harvest.

HOW TO PLANT RICE

Firstly, it is important you get a good quality of seed of the desired that you can get your expected and desirable result; this is because no amount land preparation or fertilizer application can make a bad seed good.
*Cropping calendar is the first stage in planting rice
* Also know the Units (the actual size of land) this will enhance proper planning
Choose a planting site
Clay or clay loamy soils are most suited for rice cultivation because soils with good water retention capacity with high amount of clay and organic matter are ideal for rice cultivation.
• Varieties to be planted (suitable variety for your type of land and weather)
it is important you get a good quality of seed of the desired that you can get your expected and desirable result; this is because no amount land preparation or fertilizer application can make a bad seed good

Land preparation

Moist the land area; this can be achieved by irrigation of by rainfall. This to soften the soil and also prevent unwanted weeds from growing.
Plough the land; the purpose of ploughing the land is to soften the earth so that there can be proper root penetration of the soil for proper uptake of nutrient.
Harrowing; this is breaking the bowl of the earth formed up during ploughing. It is done to smoothen the soil. This can be done twice to achieve a better result.
Level the land; the purpose of this is to achieve proper distribution of water in all part of the field. It should be done by a leveler.
• Preparation of seeds (seed priming)
Planting Operations.
Planting can be done in two ways
i. Transplanting pre grown seedlings in seedbeds (Nursery Operation)
ii. Direct seeding. This involves pregermination of the seeds i.e. complete submersion of seed inside water for 24hours then incubates the seeds for another 24hours. (germination test)

Drain the field; this should be done form 0-9 days after sowing for good seed emergence.
• Establishment of bund and canal
• Prepare the seeds
• Establish nursery
• Nursery operation
• Tillering of land
• Water management
• Leveling
• Fertilizer application (NPK)
Transplanting (gap filling)
Maintain around 2-3cm water depth to prevent soil hardening and aid seedling pulling. Then uprooting of seedlings should be done by holding the seedling close to the root and then pull towards oneself. The transplanting can be done manually and mechanically with seed spacing 20x20cm in the row and depth of 2-3cm.
Fertilizer Application
Broadcast fertilizer evenly on the field in order to supply the nutrient needed by the rice to survive early stage of growth.
Note; Top dressing is done between 35-55 days after planting. It provides Nitrogen, Potassium, Sulphur, Calcium and Chlorine.
Weed management
Weed can be controlled by spraying herbicides. Spraying can also be done before plant to prevent the emergence of weed.
Maintain around 2-3cm water depth throughout the planting period to prevent weed germination.
• Urea Application
• Protection against bird attack
• Rouging off or harvesting off types.

WHEN TO HARVEST RICE?

Harvest should be done when 80-85% percent of the grains (rice plants) have turned golden yellow colour to avoid shattering. It could be done manually by using sickle or mechanically using harvesters. Thresh immediately after harvest to avoid post-harvest losses.
• Harvesting and drying
• Threshing
• Winnowing
• Drying
In conclusion rice farming in Nigeria is still a gold catch and a booming business. Compare to perishable crops, rice has a very low record of post-harvest losses but commercial farmers and proper processing facilities should be encouraged the more in order to increase locally produced rice that meet the global standard provide more jobs and ultimately cater for the growing population.