Nigeria: Customs, rice farmers sign MoU to curb smuggling.

In a bid to stop smuggling of rice and importation of substandard rice to Nigeria, rice farmers and customs sign an MoU. The Nigeria Customs Service and the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to stop rice smuggling through land border into the country. Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, President Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) who confirmed the development said even though the importation of rice through the land borders was banned since April 2016 with an extension to the restriction of rice into the Nigerian market from the Export Processing Zones (EPZ), smugglers still engaged in the unwholesome act. He warned Nigerians against the consumption of foreign rice, saying that most of the imported rice was stale and only meant for animal and fish feeds. He said result of test by NAFDAC through some samples of some of the rice seizures had ascertained that smuggled rice through the land borders was unfit for human consumption. more