Kebbi targets 500,000 tonnes of rice from local farmers

The Kebbi State Government has initiated a programme to, in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), provide support to rice farmers for the production of 500,000 metrics tonnes of rice this year. Governor Atiku Bagudu made the disclosure when he received delegates of commercial rice millers and farmers led by the Special Adviser to […]

The Kebbi State Government has initiated a programme to, in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), provide support to rice farmers for the production of 500,000 metrics tonnes of rice this year.
 Governor Atiku Bagudu made the disclosure when he received delegates of commercial rice millers and farmers led by the Special Adviser to the CBN Governor on Finance, Mr Paul N. Eluhaiwe, in Birnin Kebbi.
  He stressed the need to obtain rice quality project certification, adding that the state government already has in store, 9,000 tonnes of rice.
He called on commercial millers to provide seedling on the variety their firms preferred, to enable farmers produce the required quality.
According to the governor, “additional farmland would be cleared and young farmers would be provided with funds and extension services to boost production.
“Strategies would be worked out for transportation of produce to the designated centres,” he said.
The CBN delegation and the commercial rice millers earlier undertook tour of some rice production centres in Bunza, Suru, Jega, Birnin-Kebbi and Argungu to assess quality and variety of rice proposed for processing in commercial quality.
The leader of the delegation and Special Adviser on Development Finance to CBN Governor, Mr. Paul N. Eluhaiwe, said CBN will provide rice farmers and processors with loans to boost production, as part of efforts to reduce unemployment and end importation.
He expressed their satisfaction over the rice production seen physically affirming that, “Kebbi State has the highest quality variety of rice in Nigeria.”
Chairman, Committee on Zauro Irrigation Folder Project and retired Supreme Court Justice, Uthman Mohammed, while leading Argungu rice farmers that received the delegation in Argungu, pointed out that, already rice farmers in the area have in store 19,000 bags of rice.
He urged the commercial millers to provide the seeds variety their firms preferred, to enable the farmers produce enough and required commercial quantity.
An executive of the State Rice Farmers Association (RIFAN), Malam Mohammed Sa’ad, commended the state government and CBN for the initiative, adding that, “it would improve rice production as well as boost the economic status of farmers in the state.”
He appealed to CBN governor to fulfill commitments made in order to assist the rice farmers across the state with loans to boost production.