The Nigeria Farmers Group and Cooperative Society (NFGCS), on Tuesday, said that one major way to boost local rice consumption among Nigerians is to invest in the local fabrication of de-stoning machines. Retson, who was reacting to complaints that some of the local rice purchased during 2019 yuletide was filled with stones, said de-stoning had become necessary in view of Nigerians’ continued apathy to local rice. He said that beyond border closure, governments at all levels as well as relevant stakeholders must begin to work towards making local rice stone-free so as to increase demand and boost production. He urged Nigerians to continue to patronise local rice while relevant bodies and stakeholders continued to work to improve the standard. “As we get better in colour sorting, we get better in using rice for pharmaceutical products, for other value addition to rice.

Source: The Local January 28, 2020 23:15 UTC