Rice has become one of Nigeria's leading food staples. And rice consumption has outpaced production, making Nigeria the world's leading importer of rice. As a result, reducing import dependence is now a major goal of Nigerian policymakers.

In The Nigerian Rice Economy the authors assess three options for reducing this dependency--tariffs and other trade policies; increasing domestic rice production; and improving post-harvest rice processing and marketing--and identify improved production and postharvest activities as the most promising. These options, however, will require...