We have cut down rice importation by 90% in the last 3 years - Buhari insists

President Buhari has scored his administration high in the agricultural sector, particularly rice production

 - He said his administration has cut down rice importation by 90% in the last three years

 - He added that the number of farmers has increased by 12 million within two years

 - The president also faulted a report credited to the US Department of Agriculture that alleged that Nigeria imported three million metric tonnes of rice in 2018

 The agriculture sector has significantly reduced the rate of employment in the country as over 12 million Nigerians have ventured into rice production in the last two years. 

President Muhammadu Buhari disclosed this at the 4th Nigeria Rice Investment Forum, Effective Linkage of Actor and Effort in the Value Chain for Sustained Self-Sufficiency in Rice Production, on Wednesday, November 21, in Abuja. 

The president, who was represented by the minister of agriculture and rural development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said it was important to encourage more people into farming in order to attain self-sufficiency in rice production, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.