These are referred to in the Hausa language, widely spoken in the north, as afafata, which means "battling" because they are literally a battle to cook and eat as the grains are so hard, BBC reports.
With the steady rise in the costs of living in Nigeria, many Nigerians in the Northern region of the country have reportedly resorted to rice grains that millers reject after processing or sell to farmers to feed their fish.
These are referred to in the Hausa language, widely spoken in the north, as afafata, which means "battling" because they are literally a battle to cook and eat as the grains are so hard, BBC reports.
The BBC report quoted a rice mill worker in the northern city of Kano, Kano State capital, Isah Hamisu, as saying that "A few years ago, people didn't care about this type of rice, and we usually threw it away along with the rice hulls, but times have changed."
Though the grains are broken, dirty and tough, afafata's cheaper price has made it more attractive for hungry Nigerians and helped poorer families to be able to afford to eat one of the staple foods in the country.
A fish farm owner, Fatima Abdullahi, reportedly said that her fish love the grains but because people are now eating afafata, its price has risen.
Prices of food items in Nigeria are astronomically increasing for nearly 30 years.
Amid global pressures, President Bola Tinubu's removal of the fuel subsidy and the devaluation of the naira, have added to inflation.
A standard 50kg (110lb) bag of rice, which could help feed a household of between eight and 10 for about a month, now costs N77,000 ($53; £41).
This is an increase of more than 70% since the middle of last year and exceeds the monthly income of a majority of Nigerians.
There have been mass protests in many states against the rising cost of living.
Recall that earlier this month in Niger state, North Central, protesters blocked roads and held placards saying that they were being suffocated by the rising prices.
A few days later, there was a similar protest in Kano in the Northwest.
The Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, in the aftermath of the protest admitted that there was starvation in his state and said a solution must be found.
The solution, for now, for some is found in afafata.
Hajiya Rabi Isah, based in Kano, told the BBC that if it were not for this type of rice her children would go hungry as she cannot afford the normal kind.
She said that "Normal rice is 4,000 naira ($2.70) per bowl which is beyond my means, I can only afford afafata which is 2,500 naira ($1.69) now."
It was reported that one bowl of rice from the market can feed an average family in Kano for a day.
Isah said that "Without afafata, feeding my family would be a major issue for me."
Market sellers have also noticed a difference, as Saminu Uba, who works in Kano's Medile market, reportedly said that the afafata side of his business is booming.
Uba said that "Most people can no longer afford normal rice and they come for this which is cheaper even though it tastes less good."
One of his customers, Hashimu Dahiru, admitted that people are having to find ways of adapting.
According to Dahiru, "The cost of goods is alarming - in just two months the price of everything has doubled.
"Our wives spend hours removing stones and dirt from the rice before cooking and even then it ends up tasting not nice, but we have to eat to survive."
President Bola Tinubu-led government has said that it is doing all it can about the situation, including the distribution of more than 100 tonnes of grains such as rice, millet and maize in the hope that it would cushion the effects of inflation and help lower the market price.
But the President's aide, Bayo Onanuga, recently said that Nigeria still had one of the lowest costs of living in Africa.
The increasing price of rice is not a new problem though as it started since former President Muhammadu Buhari, banned the importation of rice to encourage more Nigerian farmers to grow the crop.
However, local producers have been unable to meet the demand.
Though President Tinubu has lifted the import restrictions, the shortage of foreign currency and the falling value of the naira has made bringing in rice more difficult than ever before.
Hyperlink - https://www.bbc.com/news/world