Sokoto’s premier modern rice mill to bolster production

The mill has a combined capacity of 1,250 kilogrammes per hour. It is expected to curb capital flight, create jobs, reduce poverty and the attendant negative consequences.At the inauguration of the Attajiri Rice Mills, a private initiative, the Managing Director, Nura Abdullahi  Attajiri, noted the tremendous human and capital resources Nigeria is blessed with.“Nigeria has […]

The mill has a combined capacity of 1,250 kilogrammes per hour. It is expected to curb capital flight, create jobs, reduce poverty and the attendant negative consequences.
At the inauguration of the Attajiri Rice Mills, a private initiative, the Managing Director, Nura Abdullahi  Attajiri, noted the tremendous human and capital resources Nigeria is blessed with.
“Nigeria has been blessed with vast fertile land capable of producing all types of crops, including rice, yet we have massive importation of rice into the country,” he noted.
He said the idea of the rice mill is a bid to look inwards.
“Doing so would definitely bolster the local mass production of rice both for local consumption and exports,” he asserted.
With the vast resources, the large scale farmer of over 30 years’ experience sees no need for Nigeria to import food, especially rice.
“Encouraging the local production of rice will also help in reducing capital flight, poverty, unemployment, restiveness , as well as boost the establishment of agro-allied firms,” he said.
He identified the need to establish rice mills in all the Fadama areas of Nigeria saying it would encourage farmers in the country to produce more rice.
The entrepreneur expressed appreciation to the Sokoto State government for its  support to the company.
Attajiri, a beneficiary of the Sokoto State government’s  about  N3 billion loans to farmers and agro-investors in the state, was given N30 million which he used in setting up the rice mill.
For the state governor, Aliyu Wamakko, it was a thing of joy that efforts towards boosting food security were yielding results.
He said food production in the state has continued to receive boost with more people in the state producing  food.
Speaking through the Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Arzika Tureta, the governor said the state government gave priority attention to the agriculture sector with provision of subsidized fertlizers, agricultural inputs, tractors, pesticides and extension services, among others.