By Awyetu Asabe Hope
Dangote Industries Limited has partnered with the Niger State Government to boost industrialisation, investment, and rice production in the state.
The company said Dangote Rice Limited signed a 10-year agreement with the state for the supply of paddy rice, with a guaranteed off-take of one million metric tonnes from Niger Foods to strengthen food sufficiency in Nigeria.
Regional Director and Senior Adviser to the President of the Dangote Group, Fatima Wali-Abdurrahman, said construction of the 32-metric-tonnes-per-hour Dangote Rice Mill in Wushishi was progressing steadily and nearing completion.
She said the project, situated on a 30-hectare site, would boost local rice production, create jobs, and support agricultural development.
Wali-Abdurrahman added that several Dangote business units, including Dangote Cement Plc, NASCON Allied Industries Plc, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, and Dangote Fertiliser Limited, are participating in the 22nd Niger Trade Fair.
Chairman of Niger Foods, Sammy Adigun, said the partnership would require the development of 25,000 hectares of commercial rice farms and is expected to create 50,000 direct jobs over 10 years.
