By Omotayo Edubi
Over 7,000 tonnes of rice were produced this year as a result of the partnership with the Kogi State Government and the Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority (LNRBDA).
Managing Director of LNRBDA, Dr Adeniyi Saheed Aremu, who disclosed this while addressing newsmen in Ilorin, stated that the authority has extended various gestures to rice farmers in various parts of Kwara State with positive results.
This is as Kwara State Rice Farmers Association assumed the second-largest producer of rice in the just-concluded rice pyramid in Abuja.
Aremu also noted that LNRBDA has been able to deliver one of its key services by the development of irrigated agriculture through the acquisition of more arable land.
“For instance, 500 hectares of farmland were purchased from customary landowners along Malete – Alapa road through the Kwara State Government for farming activities.
“The project, when fully implemented is expected to open up the area for accelerated development, provide jobs and boost food sufficiency in Kwara State.
“Equally, the authority signed MOU with Kogi State Government and released over 5,000 hectares of its farmland to the state government. Specifically, at the Ejiba area office in Kogi State, the partnership with the state government yielded about 7,170 tons of paddy rice from several farmers,’ the MD, noted.
The production of the 7000 tonnes of grains is expected to complement the release of 40,000 metric tonnes of various grains from the Strategic Grains Reserve (SGR) to cushion the effect of high food prices in the country.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Abubakar, said that President Muhammadu Buhari who gave the directive also directed the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to handle the distribution.