FG signs MoU with Indian firm, procure 10 integrated rice mills
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with MV Agro Engineers Nigeria and MV Agro Engineers PVT Limited, India to procure 10 integrated large scale rice processing plants in its bid to achieve self sufficiency in rice production.
The rice mills will be delivered in the next 18 months and distributed to interested farmers as loan from the government.
Addressing journalists after signing of the MoU on Monday at the Ministry headquarters in Abuja, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh said that when all is ready, the government would advertise the mills for interested Nigerians who have the capacity to loan it and make 10 per cent down payment for the mills.
“It will be advertised, those who want to obtain it from the states will be identified, they will come and show they can obtain it and the capacity to pay 10 per cent down payment and the technical capacity to own a pond, operate a mill, then we will give them, they will install the mill and the Bank of Agriculture will take over the repayment of loan over a period of 10 years”.
The Minister further revealed that virtually all the states in Nigeria have their rice mills which were procured by government, also, the private sector have also been involved in establishing rice mills across the country.
“There are about 16 large existing rice mills that mill about 100 tons per day, some mill about 300 tons per day, Dangote just brought in 10 rice mills which will produce 1 million tons of rice per annum;
but there are smaller ones we gave out, about 200 mills of 10 tons and 20 tons per day, operating in the villages, we are buying more and giving out because the smaller mills seems to produce more rice than the big mills added up, but they are scattered all over the country.
“Virtually all the states have the smaller mills, but the efficiency of those mills are very slow, very slow, they are not efficient enough, they don’t de-stone the rice, so that makes it difficult to eat their rice, so we are equipping them with de-stoners, eventually with polishers and colour sorters to pick out black spots in rice.
Chief Ogbeh also said the government will continue making efforts to ensure that self sufficiency on rice production is achieved, adding that Nigeria can no longer afford spending over $5 million daily for rice importation.
“This is the time for the youths, they have ideas, they have ambitions but the issue of access to credit has blocked their ways and they can’t obtain any success of their lives unless government leads the way through these programs, we are walking into a future, increasing anger and frustration among young people especially.
“We are insistent in achieving self sufficiency in rice production, because we simply can’t afford to spend over $5 million a day importing rice, we don’t have the money. And I don’t think any country can afford that line of expenditure and hope to survive.
“We have a huge population that has no work to do, today, over 13 million Nigerians are on the farm growing rice and that number can increase to 20 million in a short time frame, so we have to produce our rice, sugar, beans, Maize, chicken and beef”, Ogbeh said.
Quote:
“We have a huge population that has no work to do, today, over 13 million Nigerians are on the farm growing rice and that number can increase to 20 million in a short time frame”. – Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh
