LAGOS SET TO ESTABLISH RICE MILL

Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Olayiwola Onasanya; Special Adviser to the Governor on Food Security, Mr. Ganiu Okanlawon Sanni; Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Toyin Suarau, Commissioner for Information & Strategy, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Mrs. Kofoworola Awobanise during the ongoing Y2018 ministerial press briefing to commemorate the third Year in Office of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, on Thursday, May 17, 2018.

The Lagos State Government says it has completed arrangements to establish a 32 tonnes per hour rice mill at Imota in an effort to ensure a continuous supply of Lake Rice as well as scale up its food sufficiency in the State.

The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Oluwatoyin Isiaka Suarau made this disclosure while briefing journalists during the Y2018 edition of the annual Ministerial Press Briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa to commemorate the Third Year anniversary of the present administration.

Suarau stated that when completed the mill will produce an estimated 130 million kg of processed rice per year and facilitate the creation of 274,000 jobs across the value chain.

He said the 32 tonne-per-hour rice mill, which will require the cultivation of 32,000 hectares of land for paddy supply, will provide a platform for the State to partner with the other South West States in Rice cultivation besides existing collaboration with Kebbi State.

Commenting on LAKE RICE subsidy, Suarau disclosed that its landing cost from Kebbi is N16,000 per bag while the product is sold at a subsidized rate of N12, 000 per 50kg-bag, adding that the State government has subsidized the product to the tune of N1.049 billion from December 2016 to date.

In another move towards the commercialization of the Agric sector and upgrade from subsistence to mechanized farming, the Commissioner revealed that the State has acquired 500 hectares of land along Itoikin-Epe road, Elujumowo with payment of crop compensation to representatives of five landowning communities.

The Commissioner also said the State Agricultural Youth Empowerment Scheme (AGRIC-YES) has trained over 600 youths and 300 of the beneficiaries empowered in various agricultural enterprises such as Poultry, Fishery and Crop Production.

According to him, the government aims to breed a new generation of agro-entrepreneurs in poultry, fish farming, bee-keeping and all-season vegetable farming.

“We wish to encourage the youth through leasing of farmland for 25 years at a cheap rate. The government also assists the farmers to clear land and organizes youth empowerment training”, he said.

Speaking on Coconut bread production, Suarau said the initiative has created a wider market for coconut and its allied products.

He said the government has also distributed processing equipment to coconut processors in 12 Local Government and Local Council Development Areas, adding that the equipment, which was shared by the Lagos State Coconut Development Authority, was part of its empowerment programme in the coconut value chain.

The Commissioner explained that government included coconut processors in its agricultural development programme with a view to developing the State’s coconut value chain.

He informed that the present administration has embarked on an upgrade of the Oko-Oba Abattoir to meet international standards.