‘We were not really serious about rice production’

You started this accelerated rice production in Kogi State last year but, it seems, there are still much left to be done for better achievement on the farm. What is happening?Yes, we started accelerated rice production in the state about this time last year, but we have since then moved from novice position to a […]

You started this accelerated rice production in Kogi State last year but, it seems, there are still much left to be done for better achievement on the farm. What is happening?
Yes, we started accelerated rice production in the state about this time last year, but we have since then moved from novice position to a more modified position. We have gone beyond the traditional method of planting rice, which means you plant rice and allow water at the bottom for three months.  Apart from that, we also have the new system called System of Rice Intensification (SRI) which is a system of rice modification. In the system, you get the rice seed right, get the nursery right, you get the transplanting right, you get the land preparation right and by the time you get all these right, you now allow water for seven days and dry for another seven days before planting. And when it matures, you will expect to get between 50 to 100 percent above normal yield of rice. This kind of rice is healthier than the normal one done through the traditional method. So, you can see that we have moved from the novice position.
Some farmers are complaining of shortage of water for irrigation. What are you doing on that?
Last year, toward the end of April, we had some acute shortage of water for irrigation. Then,  we had to go up to five kilometres to get water from River Niger, because we had not extended the farm to the bank of the river. But now we are just about 50 metres from the bank of the river. Again, we now have created water channels through which we channel water  to all parts of the farm. In addition to that, last year, we don’t really have enough equipment, but now we have excavators to open up the River Niger for water to flow. Last year, we were also battling with land clearing and all sort of people came to the farm while we were also struggling to get things right on the farm and the Governor, Captain Idris Wada, who was pushing the activities to meet the desired objectives, was also in the hospital recuperating from an accident. But this year, things have changed drastically. We have the machinery and the equipment to meet the exigency and needs of the farmers and the farm. This year, with the arrangement we have made, we would not have any shortage of water. We will also open up the surrounding lakes for the farmers to be supplied water. We have prepared adequately to get enough water for irrigation this year. We are not only in Lokoja alone, this rice farm is also at Ibaji and six other local governments. So, we are ready to go straight to real rice production.
Some farmers complained of not making profit last year despite the money spent on the farms, how would you change that this year?
Things are very different now. Even the farmers that complained last year that they did not make enough profit and that they have spent their money to do certain things on the farms but never got them back, this year we have plans to plant, harrow and level the farms for them. We will also give them the chemicals and supervise the usage and we will bring water close to them. So, we will actually give them everything because we don’t want any complaint again, they would definitely make a lot of profits this year.
There were allegations of diversion of agro inputs in the state last year which affect production, what measures are you putting in place to avoid a repeat this year?
We cannot guarantee 100 percent security of farm’s inputs, considering how Lokoja town is. Criminals often use motorcycle to steal these items. I think the farmers themselves have to police these items. Even some of the farmers went away with inputs given to them, thinking that everything from the government should be free. But other farmers’ challenged those that stole the items in the farms. Though we are still going to have shortages, but now that people are getting used to the farm, the farmers police themselves more than before. Of course, there cannot be perfection in this part of the world, but now, things have changed. If inputs are to be given, the state’s ministry of agriculture requests for the names of co-operative farmers and their telephone numbers, they call the farmers to come and collect their inputs from the office and take them to the farms and, I am sure, that with this arrangement theft, as a result of transportation, will be eliminated. Even though when some farmers received those input they still claim that they were not given, the fact that the names of co-operative groups are documented will reduce the problem.
Do you see Kogi State meeting the food need of the state through this ARP?
Well, we have already attained the food security level because the Kogi State Governor is giving out Kogi rice soon. We have done very well. We are still milling the last year’s produce. We have already met the food need of Kogi State, in terms of rice production.
What measure are you putting in place to tackle the invasion of quela bird on the farm?
As you all know, we started dry season farming last year without adequate preparation because we did not envisage the visit of the quela birds. What we did last year was not enough to tackle the birds. We were only beating drums, but we did not really fight them. But this year we have employed the services of experienced hunters who will kill the birds, where ever they appear on the farms. We are also going to put nets before they attack the farms in the night, the net will trap them like they do in other places,like Kenya. With the net, about 3,000 to 4,000 birds will be trapped in the morning. We have made all arrangements to fight the birds, headlong, because the damage caused to the farms last season was enormous and we don’t want a repeat of such incidence.