Olam to increase paddy rice production to 240,000 tons annually

The Olam Integrated Rice Farm, Rukubi, Nasarawa State, has announced plans to increase its production capacity for paddy rice from the current 120,000 tons to 240,000 per annum. The senior vice president, Olam Rice Business, Anil Nair, disclosed this while hosting Governor Abdullahi Sule in a courtesy visit.  Mr Nair said the current growth was […]

The Olam Integrated Rice Farm, Rukubi, Nasarawa State, has announced plans to increase its production capacity for paddy rice from the current 120,000 tons to 240,000 per annum.

The senior vice president, Olam Rice Business, Anil Nair, disclosed this while hosting Governor Abdullahi Sule in a courtesy visit. 

Mr Nair said the current growth was expected to contribute 90,000 tons of milled rice to Nigeria’s domestic market, adding that Olam participates across the country as the biggest off-taker of paddy rice, impacting on livelihoods of more than 100,000 farmers directly and indirectly. 

“In pursuit of President Buhari’s mandate of ‘producing what we consume,’ Olam Nigeria is pledging to continue its support in the fight to ensure food security and help the country reduce its food imports by ramping up rice production through its over 5000 hectares, a fully mechanised large-scale rice farm that produces two crops a year for the Nigerian market. 

“Olam, which started as a model rice farm in 2011, transformed to a commercial operation in 2012 with a present size of over 4,400 ha, with a yield of 9MT per hectare over two annual crop cycles (wet and dry season cropping),” he said. 

He decried the state of insecurity and poor road infrastructure as some of the challenges confronting the farm.

Responding, Governor Sule applauded the management of the farm for creating jobs for the citizens of the state, noting that the farm had made it possible for the indigenous farmers, who are major out-growers, to succeed.