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The Federal Government has commenced the sale of subsidized rice to Nigerians at ₦40,000 per 50kg, as part of President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to ensure food security.
This was revealed by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, launched the program in Abuja, stating that 30,000 metric tonnes of milled rice will be sold at a subsidized rate.
“This timely intervention aims to alleviate hunger and address food challenges facing Nigerians,” Kyari said.
To ensure transparency and fairness, buyers will be verified using their National Identification Number (NIN) and phone numbers, limiting purchases to one bag per person.
According to him, the injection of the 30,000MT of rice into the market is expected to crash the price of the foodstuff.
He said that intending beneficiaries would be “Verified using relevant identification mediums such as the NIN and phone numbers to forestall multiple accesses to the commodity by fraudulent individuals at the detriment of other citizens.”
“In view of the above, I urge our dear citizens to cooperate with the relevant agencies of government who will try to serve you to achieve this great initiative of government.
“It is expected that with the injection of 30,000MT (1000 trucks of 30MT each of this important staple into Nigeria’s food balance sheet, it will not only crash the price of rice but also other closer food substitutes and alternatives.”
How To Buy
The Director of Strategic Grains Reserve, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Haruna Sule, said civil servants could access the grains from the point of sale with their Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
Buyers would pay electronically to the government at the point of sale and be issued a treasury receipt with a unique code number to show he/she has paid to the government.
The buyer’s receipt shows point of collection and time of collection; this is to eliminate any form of stampede.
“Once you have any of these three, you present it to the sales operators and it is logged on the platform that has been created.
“After this, you proceed to pay electronically with your ATM; once the payment is done, it is linked to the initial sales operator and it shows that you have paid; then a receipt will be issued with a code number,” Sule explained.
He noted that the point of collection is different from the point of sales, adding that “When you get to the collection point, you present your code to our officials and you will be given a bag of rice.”
In Abuja, he said the plan is to set up about five to six sales points across the FCT and the duration of the distribution will be for the period they are able to finish sales.