By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Lagos and Delta are taking up the challenge to ramp up production of rice, Nigeria’s most popular food consumed by the rich and the poor alike, to reduce imports and save foreign exchange.
To feed its 20 million residents, Lagos plans to produce 2.4 million 50kg bags of rice yearly, and its multi-billion naira Imota Rice Mill is at 85 per cent completion and will be completed towards the end of the first quarter of 2021 (Q1 2021).
Rice farmers in Delta target production of 28,000 metric tonnes (mt) in Q1 2021.
Lagos Agriculture Commissioner Abisola Olusanya said at a webinar on “Lagos State 2021 Budget Review Session” that when Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu assumed office the mill was at 10-15 per cent completion and is now at 85 per cent.
She explained that the project is being fast-tracked to ensure food security in the state and across the country as rice is a staple of national diet.
According to her, the mill will also create 250,000 jobs nationwide and help create wealth across the agricultural value chain – from input supply to paddy aggregation, storage and warehousing, processing, distribution, and final consumption.
When completed, the production capacity of the mill will put it among the largest in the world, and the largest in Africa, with 2.5 million bags of 50kg rice produced yearly, at 32mt per hour.
Lagos will collaborate with other states such as Kwara, Sokoto, Benue, Borno, and Kebbi to meet the paddy requirement of the mill.
Production in Delta
Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) Delta State Chairman, Sylvanus Ejezie, disclosed last November that farmers in the state target 28,000 MT of rice in Q1 2021.
The production will be done by 7,000 registered farmers participating in dry season farming, he said.
He disclosed that the RIFAN-Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) loan scheme had provided all the materials needed by the farmers and each is expected to cultivate at least one hectare with a yield of four tonnes per hectare.
Dry season farming began with land preparation and was flagged off when some farmers received water hoses to irrigate.
“Now, we want to take advantage of the dry season and all the farmers who have access to water will be participating,” Ejezie stressed.