PLAYERS in the rice value chains have cause to smile in the last few months because of the partial closure of the borders to stop Nigerian markets being saturated with some imported goods, particularly rice.
In the past, the country was a dumping ground for various agro-allied products, a situation that discouraged commitment to home-grown agricultural enterprises.
Despite the desperate actions of smugglers in their nefarious trade to smuggle a lot of agricultural products into the country, the security agencies were equal to the task and did expose some of their shady deals.
The economic advantage derived from the action has encouraged President Muhammadu Buhari to declare in his recent visit to London that there was no going back on his decision.
According to him, he would not watch youths being destroyed through cheap hard drugs, and compromised security caused by unbridled influx of small arms.
“When most of the vehicles carrying rice and other food products through our land borders are intercepted, you find cheap hard drugs and small arms, under the food products. This has terrible consequences for any country,” he said. On time frame for re-opening the borders, President Buhari said it would not happen till the final report of a committee set up on the matter was submitted and considered
