Nigeria, July 14 -- Nigeria has produced more rice in the last five years than at any other time since the return of democracy in 1999, data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows.

The FAO data shows that between 2014 and 2019, Nigeria maintained top spot among rice producers in Africa.

Between 2014 and 2016, Nigeria's rice paddy production figures constantly rose from 6.0 to 6.2 and to 7.5 million metric tonnes respectively.

In 2017, Nigeria's production figure fell to 6.61 mmt, but increased in 2018 to 6.81 mmt. Again, in 2019, it dropped to 5.1 mmt.

When compared by government administrations in the last two decades, rice paddy production has so far averaged at about 7 mmt under the Buhari administrat...