CHAPTER ONE
1.                                                      INTRODUCTION
1.1    Background of the study
Rice (Oryza sativa) is a cereal belonging to the Gramineae, a large monocotyledonous family of some 600 genera and around 10,000 species (Wibberley, 1989). It is valued as the most important staple food for over half of the world population (International Year of Rice, 2004) and ranks third after wheat and maize in production on world basis. More than half of the world’s population depends on rice as the major source of calories (FAO, 2003).The amount consumed by all these people ranged from100kg to 240kg per annum in the year 2000 alone (FAO,2003). Twospecies have emerged as our most popular cultivated rice,Oryza sativaand Oryzaglaberrima; of these two species the more widely produced is Oryza sativa.
Rice is cultivated in almost all part of the globe including Nigeria. By 2015, it has been estimated that over three-fifth of the world population will depend on rice as their staple food (Echiegu, 2009). Rice is one of the staple foods in Nigeria and it is cherished by almost all the ethnic groups and it is prepare into various delicacies. For instance, in the northern part of Nigeria, rice can be milled and used for flour and also molded and fried into cakes. Large acres of plantation can be found in these areas, Lafia (northern Nigeria), Beneu state (Middle Belt), Osun state (Western Nigeria), Abakaliki (Eastern Nigeria) and several other places.
In Nigeria, rice consumption has risen tremendously at about 10% per annum due to changing consumer preference (Akande, 2003). However, (Ebuehi and Oyewole, 2007) discovered that most Nigerians prefer to consume imported rice brands as compared to local rice varieties. The reason is that most Nigerian rice processors lack adequate technology of rice processing to meet international standard. It is valued as the most important staple food for over half of the worldpopulation (International Year of Rice,2004) and ranks third after wheat and maize inproduction on world basis. More than half of the world’spopulation depends on rice as the major source of calories(FAO, 2003). The amount consumed by all these people ranged from100kg to 240kg per annum in the year 2000 alone (FAO,2003). Twospecies have emerged as our most popular cultivated rice,Oryza sativaand Oryzaglaberrima; of these two species themore widely produced is Oryzasativa.
In Nigeria, rice consumption has risen tremendously atabout 10% per annum due to changing consumer preferences (Akande, 2003). However, Ebuehi and Oyewole (2007) discovered that most Nigerians prefer toconsume imported rice brands as compared to local ricevarieties. The reasonis that most Nigerian rice processors lackadequate technology of rice processing to meet internationalstandard. It is one of the most important staple crops in Nigeria, and local production of the commodity has increased several folds in the last 4 decades. Despite the increasing trend in local production, Nigeria is still a net importer of rice. In the local markets there is a greater consumer preference for imported rice compared to the locally produced commodity because of some quality issues associated with the local rice. Presence of stones in locally processed.