Career
In May 2008 Ruma denied reports that Nigeria was suffering from a food crisis, saying the only problem was with the rising cost of rice. He defended his ministry's decision to centralize distribution of fertilizer rather than relying on private enterprise, and noted that the government was taking action to improve access to credit by farmers and to supply more tractors. But the government would import rice if needed to cushion cost increases. In July 2009, talking to a stakeholders' roundtable of the National Food Security Advocacy Group, he said that in the past middlemen contractors and politicians skimmed off subsidies for fertilizers which did not get to the farmers in time for the planting season, and then were grossly overpriced. Speaking to journalists in November 2009 on the government’s Public Private Partnership in the area of rice production, Ruma explained the government was looking at linking up large-scale private sector operators with farmer's cooperative groups, and was providing funds for small-scale irrigation with focus on the most productive areas.
