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| WACOT Rice Limited |
The food sufficiency goal of the federal government is set to receive a major boost through collaboration between WACOT Rice Limited and the Kebbi State government.
The food sufficiency journey started sometime in June 2016 when President Muhammadu Buhari announced in a Ramadan meeting with members of the business community that his administration would make the country self-sufficient in rice production within 18 months.
The president was obviously not satisfied with the fact that the country was still importing food in the face of a foreign exchange crisis and Nigeria, being Africa’s largest consumer of rice, devours about six million metric tonnes of rice annually mostly imported from India, Thailand and Brazil.
The president submitted that Nigeria should be able to produce what it eats and export its excess. 14 months after the declaration, the president’s dream is gradually becoming a reality through the establishment of the West African Cotton Rice Mill (WACOT) in Argungu, Kebbi State which is expected to produce 120,000 metric tons annually and 400 metric tons of rice daily.
The multi-billion naira rice mill is said to be the largest of its kind in Africa. It was commissioned by the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, on August 1, 2017.
It has about 10 silos with the capacity to store 18,000 tons of rice paddy and warehouses for storing an additional 12,000 tons of rice paddy. The mill is stocked with machines from world renowned machinery suppliers like Buhler, Petkus, SKF, Thermax and Silos Cordoba and includes a fully equipped laboratory to test all parametres for ensuring consistent quality of the product.
Built with the economics of the environment in mind, it is expected to generate electricity from husk (the hard protecting coverings of grains of rice), thereby ensuring that all by-products from the processing are well-utilized. It will generate 1 megawatt of electricity via turbines to reduce dependence on the national grid. It also has a fully equipped water treatment plant that takes care of its liquid waste before being discharged into the community, where safely used for irrigation.
WACOT Limited is the first company to do an Out Growers Model and Farmers Assistance Scheme. The company is now extending its expertise to increase yields among rice farmers in Argungu and beyond, since more farmers need to increase their yields if the country is to meet its self-sufficiency target. Although the building of the mill only started in February 2016, since 2013, WACOT has been engaging with farmers through two training schemes- the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and the Yield Enhancement Techniques (YET). The company has worked with over 4,000 farmers and distributed inputs - high quality seeds, fertilizers and agro-chemicals worth N144m.
Argungu is already beginning to witness economic transformation as a result of the establishment of the rice mill-more jobs are coming with over 3,500 people engaged as well as new businesses built around the mill.
Speaking at the commissioning of the mill, Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, said: “It is the policy of the federal government that it is the private sector that must be the engine of development. But the private sector being the engine of development is not just the private sector leading growth. The growth must be growth with jobs, it cannot be jobless growth.
“We have seen a lot of jobless growth, especially around the oil economy with a lot of revenue coming but a very few jobs. One of the critical things that we are seeing today, especially the development of agriculture, is that this is growth with jobs. Several thousands of our people are farmers and are engaged in farming”.
He said the commissioning of the mill was a landmark achievement for the country in diversifying its economy and a signal to other countries that Nigeria is not just open for business but set for development. Osinbajo said the N10bn investment that was put together within 12 months shows that Nigeria is moving in the right direction.
The story of the mill is not without the support of the Kebbi State government under Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.
Bagudu recently disclosed that on assuming office and discovering the huge rice potentialities in his state, he immediately partnered with the Bank of Industry and the Central Bank of Nigeria and to show his commitment, he put down N4 billion to assist rice farmers in the state to go into commercial farming. He pointed out that with the capital outlay and agreement it entered into the with the BOI, his administration also designed a template where each farmer agrees to produce at least six tons of rice per hectare of land after being given a minimum of N210,000 per hectare to cover farm inputs and seedlings.
According to the Managing Director, Mr. Ujwalkanta Senapati, WACOT has completed several humanitarian projects in the community.
“We have renovated a school and a hospital and have organized health camps with free consultation and medicines to over 1,000 farmers. We’ve always had the aspiration to implement positive change,” he said.
The General Manger, Mr. Amit Gupta, expressed optimism on his company’s role in the effort to boost rice production in the country.
He said WACOT can produce rice that can be compared with those produced in Thailand and India because it has the required machines, boilers and other equipment.
Source: Daliy Trust
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