Lagos State Government has pledged to make rice available to residents at a reduced cost of N13, 000 per 50kg bag.
The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi
Ambode, disclosed this on Thursday during the 2016 Agricultural Summit
organised by the Agricultural Sectoral Group of the Lagos Chamber of
Commerce and Industry.
Ambode, who spoke through his Special
Adviser on Food Security, Mr. Ganiyu Okanlawon, said the state had
entered into a partnership with Kebbi State Government to produce ‘Lake
Rice’ which would be made available to consumers at N13,000 per bag in
the coming weeks.
Speaking during the programme with theme
‘walking hand-in-hand to move agriculture forward,’ Amobode disclosed
that his government had also established a department of agribusiness
in the Ministry of Agriculture, an agricultural trust fund and the first
commodity exchange market in Nigeria.
In his opening remarks, the President,
LCCI, Dr. Nike Akande noted that the agricultural sector was expected to
play a pivotal role in the nation’s quest for diversification through
increased non-oil earnings, job creation and foreign exchange earnings.
“These are needed to drive the economy towards the path of recovery from recession,” she said.
Citing data from the National Bureau of
Statistics, Akande noted that even after the recent rebasing of the
nation’s Gross Domestic Product, agriculture still accounted for a large
share of its economic activities.
She urged the government to do more in
terms of providing enabling business environment where private sector
businesses could thrive, adding, “The development of a good rail network
to facilitate the movement of agro produce to markets cannot be
overemphasised.”
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