Lagos to partner private sector on food production

The call was made by Commissioner for Agriculture Prince Gbolahan Lawal at a press briefing to mark the World Food Day.Lawal said the state government decided to establish a rice mill in the state because it observed that Lagos consumes 50 percent of rice imported into the country, adding: “As government, we have demonstrated the […]

The call was made by Commissioner for Agriculture Prince Gbolahan Lawal at a press briefing to mark the World Food Day.
Lawal said the state government decided to establish a rice mill in the state because it observed that Lagos consumes 50 percent of rice imported into the country, adding: “As government, we have demonstrated the possibility of increasing food production and we have been producing through our rice mill. So, it is now left for the private sector to come and support us so that we can reduce the foreign exchange expended on importation of food into the country.”
The commissioner said Lagos would produce 25 percent of the needed food items in the state, adding that measures were put in place to guard against food scarcity.
He disclosed that the state government used to produce 159,000 metric tonnes of fish annually, calling for private sector collaboration in order to boost fish production in the state.
Lawal explained that apart from the acquisition of portions of land in Osun, Oyo, Ogun states and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Lagos was embarking on several other programmes and projects expected to boost food production in the state.
He said: “For fish production, in 2010, we were able to produce 109,000 metric tonnes. At the end of December 2013, we were at 159,000 metric tonnes. The demand for fish in Lagos is 220,000 metric tonnes. Nationally, the production is 800,000 metric tonnes but the demand for fish is 2.4million metric tonnes nationally.”
He assured that by 2018, Lagos would be able to provide 25 percent of the foods needed by the residents, saying efforts were being intensified to boost food production.