Dominion farm to cut rice import by 15%

Umar, in an interview with Daily Trust said 30,000 hectares of land have been acquired by the Taraba-based American rice farmer and owner of Dominion Farms, Calvin Burgess, to begin large-scale rice production in Gassol Local Government Area of the state.He said some machinery are already at the farm while structures are also being put […]

Umar, in an interview with Daily Trust said 30,000 hectares of land have been acquired by the Taraba-based American rice farmer and owner of Dominion Farms, Calvin Burgess, to begin large-scale rice production in Gassol Local Government Area of the state.
He said some machinery are already at the farm while structures are also being put in place in preparation for full farming activities early next year.
He said the delay in the take off of farming activities in the place was partly due to the issues of land compensation to the locals which, he said, the state government was making efforts to settle to ensure the farm takes off without hitch.
Musa said about 50 youth from the state have been trained in Kenya in three major components of modern rice production, processing and marketing, adding that they are currently waiting for takeoff of the farm to utilize the skills they acquired.
“Dominion Farm is also going to establish similar institution that is found in Kenya here in Gassol whereby any farmer that is going to be part of the programme will be trained before he will be given the go ahead to continue as a registered farmer,” he added.
He expressed hope that the farm will boost economic activities in the state and offer employment opportunities to youth as well as small scale farmers in the state.
On environmental pollution, Umar said understanding would be reached with the management of the farms to ensure its activities don’t have negative impact on the host community, especially over the application of pesticides and other chemicals on the farm.
“We have heard about what happened in Kenya and we don’t want the Kenya experience to repeat itself here”, he added.