Can Nigeria Sustain Ban on Rice Importation Overtime? Analysis of Its Determinants on Agri-Business Development in Commercial Rice Production and Processing (1991-2015)

This study analyzed the determinants ofrice importation in Nigeria (1991-2015). Data were collected from secondary sources, analyzed using vector error correction model, variance decomposition and impulse response. The result ~howed that inflation rate in the previous year and population in the previous year were the variables that significantly affected the importation of rice in the long run while rice output in the previous year was the only variable that significantly affected rice importation in the short ruri. It was therefore recommended that the Federal government should put in place policies to increase and improve on the quality of locally produced rice through agricultural credit, fertilizer distribution, packaging and marketing. Also the Federal Government should set up policies that will encourage investment through appropriate financing at reasonable interest rate so that agribusiness will be promoted, particularly in the rice sub-sector.