The Federal Government is facilitating the massive cultivation of rice across the country with a view to stopping rice importation by 2014.
 
Adebisi Buhari, a director in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, made this known in an interview in IIorin.
 
Buhari said that the government was making effort to stop the importation of rice and other products that could be produced in the country.
 
He expressed optimism that the objective would be realised through joint efforts with communities and private firms to boost production in the country.
 
He said that the government would encourage private sector involvement in the development of the agriculture sector, particularly rice production, stressing that food importation was affecting the nation negatively.
 
Buhari said that the government was already collaborating with Patigi and Share Communities in Kwara to establish high capacity rice mill, to boost production.
 
He commended the synergy between the Federal and Kwara Governments as well as other commodity associations.
 
The director noted that the government had provided various platforms for farmers to access loans and other incentives to improve crop production in the country.
 
He urged Nigerians to key into the ongoing transformation of the agriculture sector, to further enhance the progress being made by the government.
 
"Nigerians should see agriculture as a veritable business to boost the economy and not a tedious endeavour.
 
"The government, through its policies, will provide a level playing ground for prospective farmers to invest in the sector, to ensure sustainability," Buhari said.