Rice description, cultivation, processes and production in nigeria

 Rice (Oryza sativa)

Rice comes from a grass species oryza sativa(asian rice) or Oryza glaberrima as the seed of the grass, the wild seed is called zizania andthe domestic  Porteresia

Rice is the one of the most important source of food to nigerians and the most part of the world as a whole especially in asia and the eastern part of the world it is the third highest production in world providing more than one-fifth of the calories consumed by human worldwide.

Description of rice

the cereal grain is grown from year to year although in trophic area it can be grown time to time (perennial) for about 30 years and it grows to about 1.2 meters in height . the leaves are long and flattened and are borne on hollow stems.  the fibrous root system is often broad and so reading . the panicles, is made of spikelets bearing flower that produce the fruit or grain. varieties differ greatly in length, shape, and weight of the panicles and the overall productivity of the given plant.

cultivation of rice 

cultivation of rice traditionally involves proper flooding or irrigation before and after the settling of the young seedling where the seed are sown in prepared beds and the seedlings are 25 to 50 years old  they are transplanted to a field or paddy that has been enclosed by leeves and submerged under 5 to 10cm of water remaining submerged during the growing season    

  

                                                       

 However, rice can be grown practically anywhere, even on a steep hill or mountain area with the use of water-controlling terrace systems

Factors that promote adequate rice yield

Irrigation including construction of dams and waterwheel 

Quality of the soil

Long period of sunlight are important

Adequate irrigation which means inundation of the field to a depth of several inches during the greater 

part of the growing season 

production of rice 

According to wikipedia.org  Rice is a major food staple and a mainstay for the rural population and their food security. It is mainly cultivated by small farmers in nigeria holdings of less than one hectare. Rice is also a wage commodity for workers in the cash crop or non-agricultural sectors. Rice is vital for the nutrition of much of the population in nigeria, as well as Africa as a whole  it is central to the food security of over half the world population.

Nigeria have significant losses post-harvest at the farm and because of poor roads, inadequate storage technologies, inefficient supply chains and farmer's inability to bring the produce into retail markets dominated by small shopkeepers. A World Bank – FAO study claims 8% to 26% of rice is lost in developing nations, on average, every year, because of post-harvest problems and poor infrastructure. Some sources

 claim the post-harvest losses exceed 40%. Not only do these losses reduce food security in the world, the study claims that farmers in developing countries such as China, India and others lose approximately US$89 billion of income in preventable post-harvest farm losses, poor transport, the lack of proper storage

 and retail. One study claims that if these post-harvest grain losses could be eliminated with better infrastructure and retail network, in India alone enough food would be saved every year to feed 70 to 100 million people.

the  seed plant know as paddy rough rice is mill by husk or hull to remove chaff at the point the product is called brown rice which contain 8 percent of protein and small amount of fats 

The rice that is milled to remove the bran either by hand polish is called white rice and has greatly looses its nutrients, white rice may also be enriched by adding nutrients, especially those lost during the milling process. While the cheapest method of enriching involves adding a powdered blend of nutrients that will easily wash off (in the United States, rice which has been so treated requires a label warning against rinsing), more sophisticated methods apply nutrients directly to the grain, coating the grain with a water-insoluble substance which is resistant to washing.

writer @mictheoy