It is no longer news that President Muhammadu Buhari has officially commissioned the 32 metric tonnes per hour Lagos Rice Mill in Imota, Ikorodu.
The integrated rice mill in Imota is a 22-hectare facility with a milling area of about 8.5 hectares and consists of a complete set of new factories, two warehouses, 16 silos with a storage capacity of 40 metric tons each, a water treatment plant, sewage. processing plants, staff headquarters, administrative blocks, car parks and firefighting facilities, etc
The President was received at the facility by the governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu in the company of the Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya and other top government officials.
Speaking at the event, he noted that the President is happy about the project, adding that the Lagos Rice Mill is part of the State Government’s determination to complement the Federal Government’s rice revolution.
According to the governor, the Rice Mill, the largest in Africa and the third largest in the world, will generate about 250,000 direct and indirect jobs for Lagosians. This, he said, will contribute enormously to the economy of the immediate community where the factory is located, Lagos State and the country as a whole.
He said the Imota rice mill is Lagos State’s effort to support the country’s rice revolution.
He said the factory would create jobs and help drive sustainable growth and the state was happy to be a part of the country’s agricultural revolution.
“This will create jobs and help drive sustainable growth and we are happy to be part of the country’s agricultural revolution,” he said.
Rice Mill, which is 2 to 16 Metric Tons per hour located on a land area of 8.5Ha with an annual rice requirement of more than 240,000MT to produce 2.5 million bags of 50kg rice per year.
Integrated rice milling operations in Lagos State started with the success of the Rice for Jobs Programme, which started in 2008. The program covers all aspects of the rice value chain such as Paddy processing among others. This passes approximately 1,000 rice farmers in the value chain.
From the beginning, the administration of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu gave priority attention to the Imota Rice Factory. Recall that one of Sanwo-Olu’s earliest tasks was a work visit to a factory where he promised to speed up the project.
The Governor, who visited the factory in the company of his Vice, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola and other top government officials, expressed the administration’s commitment to improving food security in the country.
Now, with its completion, the factory can meet the rice needs of a considerable proportion of Lagos residents. To further ensure that the rice needs of Lagosians are sufficient, the government has partnered with Western and Northern states, as well as the Rice Farmers Association (REFAN) for the acquisition of rice.
Without doubt, the state government has shown that it is not committed to the Federal Government’s policy on food production.
In this regard, there have been discussions with other countries, especially those that have the capacity to provide land for rice cultivation. As a result, some of them have offered to provide about 72,000 hectares in their country. This will surely be a boost to the renewed Lagos for rice cultivation.
According to the Rice Farmers Association (REFAN) 2017/2018 report, the peak rice farmers’ body can produce 10 million tons of rice.
Unfortunately, only a small part of the capacity is used optimally. This is the shortfall that the Lagos Rice Mill is expected to fill.
Fortunately, the World Bank will assist national governments in this fresh push to improve food security. This is done with a focus on the value chain with the aim of increasing the capacity of rice farmers and the entire value chain.
Apart from hunger and malnutrition, food insecurity also leads to various other problems such as health hazards, environmental degradation and high crime rates. Conversely, if food security improves, most aspects of life also improve.
Our dependence on rice imports has harmed the local economy. Resources that could be used to boost agro-economic capacity are channeled into importing rice that has lost its nutritional value due to years of preservation. In 2016, Nigeria imported 2.3 million tons of rice, with an average of $5 million for each shipment.
Former Minister of Agriculture and current President of the African Development Bank, (ADB) Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, once disclosed that in 2010 alone, the country spent an astonishing N635b on wheat importation, N35b on rice importation, N217b on sugar importation and another N97b. use imported fish! Imagine the impact that money would have had on our country if it had been invested in improving critical infrastructure across the country.
It is, therefore, heartening that Sanwo-Olu has fulfilled its promise to complete the important Lagos Integrated Rice Mill in such a short period of time.
With a population of over 20 million, it is wise and convenient for Lagos State to embrace food security. In addition to hunger and malnutrition, food insecurity also leads to various other problems such as health, environmental degradation, and high crime rates.
As the country’s Center of Excellence, it is great to see that Lagos has taken cues from countries such as China, Thailand and Vietnam, by building a huge rice factory. This will increase the country’s capacity to produce more, thereby meeting the needs of its citizens.
By coming to the site of the rice mill, Sanwo-Olu is, of course, taking another giant leap in his administration’s ‘Greater Lagos’ vision. Of course, Greater Lagos is on the rise!
Ogunbiyi is the Deputy Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.