Entrepreneur promotes “agro-tourism” with Otus Brown rice

As part of efforts to further promote agro-tourism in Nigeria, Chief Promoter of Otus Brown Rice, Francis Otu Okpani has cemented his growing relationship with American Rice Federation to promote the local rice brand.

Speaking on the rice deal, Okpani said that natural brown rice are now available in the country, stressing that such variety of rice is good for sugar control in the body.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Times Nigeria Okpani discussing studies show that the foreign brown rice is not really brown rice, that it’s synthetic brown.

“The natural brown rice that within our shores is rather available and the possible solution for sugar control. I have recommended it to number of people both locally and internationally who have testifiedthat it is good.”

According to Retire Project Manager, it was not meant for sugar elevated patients, nor for diabetic patient as such.

“It’s just a very healthy food that helps your health conditions. “The reason is it that it has a lot of fiber, which every normal human being needs. I don’t export at the moment but I intend to export. People buy and travel out with it”, he pointed.

Expressing optimism, he said “We are about to develop the farm and start producing in a large quantity”, Okpani hinted.

“I buy from the farmers. I have understanding with some farmers in certain communities that run through Benue, Cross River, and Ebonyi, sometimes Taraba.

Commenting on marketing the brown rice, he said that “Well everything in the market generally is a function of a marketing job. We have not really done some aggressive marketing job on it but at the moment a lot of people are asking for it.

Okpani pointed out they have shown a whole lot of presence in the government, noting that in 2014 they were highly celebrated at the 19th national economic summit which was on Agriculture.

He described United States as most appropriate, stressing they haven’t concluded. “The United States seems to be the most appropriate of the all the people that have been talking to us but we haven’t concluded anything. At the moment we have sourced 10,000 acres of land from Cross River State Government to start the farming with whichever organization we conclude with.

We have to start the farming from them. Again, we will build the mini plant. We had a lot of public outing where we engage in talks with banks-Banks of Industry, Banks of Agriculture, Central Bank of Nigeria and a lot of others”, Okpani pointed out.

On funding, he said “Funding is the most critical problem of every Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) which we are. That is why we have been engaging the banks for the past four years; building day to day for the requirements because we have come to realize that it is not just the money”..

Explaining further, he equally said that they have had serious relationship with Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) at Pan-Atlantic University, urging that they have come to gain good understanding of what it means to building capacity that could attract the banks tobe interested with what they are doing.

According to Okpani who described land as a serious problem in the business, said there was need for a large expanse of land to plant rice to a commercial quantity.