pursuit of the government’s effort at securing local self-sufficiency
in food production, the Federal Government has approved the
establishment of processing mills for rice and cassava, two staples
which have over the last few months dominated headlines on account of
poor processing capacity. In the case of rice in particular, AgroNigeria
had reported on the impending glut following the bumper rice paddy
harvests recorded by farmers across the country.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina while speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting. He explained that the projects which are estimated to cost about ₦13 billion would be largely private-sector driven, with government providing the necessary platforms for their operation.
According to Adesina, the 10 integrated rice mills would be located in 10 states including Kebbi, Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, Benue, Kogi, Bayelsa, Bauchi , Ogun and Anambra, while the cassava processing mills would be located in Cross River, Abia, Delta, Ondo and Ogun states.
The minister noted that following the increase in number of rice growing states from 10 in 2012 to 23 in 2014, the country is currently developing high quality rice mills with the capacity to process rice paddy into finished rice.
No comments:
Post a Comment