NAN-AE-3
Rice
By Rabiu Sani
Hadejia (Jigawa), March 24, 2017 (NAN) The Federal Government said on Friday it had evolved measures to accelerate rice production and provide market for the produce.
The Minister of State, Budget and Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmad, disclosed this during a facility tour of the 3-Brothers Rice mill in Hadejia, Jigawa.
Ahmad said government had initiated policies and programmes aimed at protecting farmers and addressing the challenges militating against the development of agriculture.
Cue in audio (Ahmad)
“They have a large stock of rice that they are finding difficult to sell.
“And they are speculating that it might be due to smuggling of rice through the borders into the country.
“So this is a challenge that we will report to the presidential committee responsible for ensuring stabilisation in the prices of food items so that we look at ways and means to help them to close that gap so that they can sell.”
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The minister added that the Federal Government, in collaboration with state governments, had initiated various farmer support programmes designed to encourage agricultural activities toward achieving self-sufficiency in food production.
The minister congratulated the Jigawa Government over its Farm Cluster scheme and road projects, saying the gesture would improve the socio-economic well-being of the people at the grassroots.
“The farm cluster programme and road projects are carefully selected to create job opportunities in agriculture while the roads are expected to open up the state and ease movement of farm produce to the market,” she stated.
Also speaking, Alhaji Malam Yaya, the Factory Manager, stated that the mill processes 240 tonnes of rice per day.
Yaya explained that the mill had incorporated about 5, 000 farmers in Hadejia to ensure adequate and constant supply of paddy rice.
“We have in stock about 150 trucks of rice; we are not making good sales nowadays,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the minister was in Jigawa to assess viable projects executed by the state government.
Some of the projects inspected include the more than 700 hectares cleared by the state government for rice and wheat cultivation, and the more than 200-kilometre eastern by-pass, which is designed to open up the state and link it with neighbouring Niger Republic. (NAN)
RSA/HAS/YEE
Edited by Hajia Sani/Emmanuel Yashim
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