Many people in Northern Nigeria are turning to rice grains that millers had typically rejected after processing or sold to farmers to feed their fish as a way to combat the region’s persistently growing cost of living.
Because the grains are so hard, cooking and eating them is an ordeal. This is why these are known as “battling” in the Hausa language, which is widely spoken in Northern Nigeria.
Isah Hamisu, a worker at a rice mill in the northern city of Kano, told the BBC that “a few years ago, people didn’t care about this type of rice, and we usually threw it away along with the rice hulls, but times have changed.”
Afafata is a staple food in the country, but because it is less expensive, people find it more appealing even though the grains are harsh, unclean, and broken. This has allowed impoverished families to afford to eat this diet.
Nigerian prices are generally rising at the quickest rate in almost thirty years. Inflation has increased in addition to external pressures due to President Bola Tinubu’s removal of the gasoline subsidy and depreciation of the naira.
A typical 50 kg (110 lb) bag of rice used to cost 77,000 naira ($53, £41), enough to feed a family of eight to ten people for almost a month. This is a price increase of almost 70% from the middle of the previous year and is higher than the majority of Nigerians’ monthly income.
According to the presidency, every effort is being made to address the situation. distributing more than 100 tonnes of grains, such as maize, rice, and millet, in an effort to mitigate the consequences of inflation and bring down market prices.
To encourage more Nigerian farmers to plant the crop, President Tinubu’s predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, outlawed the importation of rice; nevertheless, local producers were unable to keep up with demand.
Before then, a large number of people could afford the rice that was imported from Thailand in Nigerian marketplaces.
After Mr. Tinubu removed import limits, bringing in rice has become more difficult due to the lack of foreign currency and the declining value of the naira.
Source: BBC News
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