Bauchi flags-off Anchor Borrower’s scheme with 20,000 farmers.

Bauchi State government has launched the Anchor Borrower’s Scheme with 20,000 farmers that registered for the scheme.

The scheme was initiated by the federal government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as an agricultural intervention to help farmers boost production.

 Governor Mohammed Abubakar officially launched the scheme in Bauchi State at Gadar-Maiwa town.

Speaking at the flag-off of land preparation for the programme, he said his administration will give priority to programmes like the Anchor Borrowers Scheme.

Governor Abubakar said the state government has in addition to other supports agreed to is pay off the 9% interest on the loan to be granted farmers in the programme.

“The government has placed a high priority to agriculture, especially laudable programmes like the Anchor Borrowers Scheme, as part of efforts to empower the people, create job opportunities and tackle the challenges of food security,” he said.

In his address, the lead consultant in charge of the programme in Bauchi State, Dr Abdulmalik Nura, said out of the 20,000 registered farmers, 10,000 had so far been screened by field officers and representatives of participating banks.

He said they have concluded all input assessment of irrigated rice production module for the state, which currently stood at N370, 000 per hectare.

“The aim of the programme is to create economic linkage between small holder farmers and reputable large scale processors. Each bonafide farmer is now expected to deposit N18, 500, which is his mandatory 5 per cent equity contribution as prescribed by the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) guideline,” he said.

MD, Guana Farms - Ban on rice importation hasty

The Chief Executive Officer of Raymos Guana Farms, Mr Raymos Guana, says the decision of the Federal Government to ban rice importation is too hasty.

Guana, a former Commissioner for Lands in Delta, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Asaba on Thursday.

According to him, the quantity of rice being produce in the country today will not be able to meet the demands of Nigerians.

He said that government should have given farmers at least three to five years notice to work toward boosting rice production that could adequately feed the nation.

“With such target, each state of the federation would be given specified quantity of rice to be produced within the stipulated time.

“For example, Delta will produce one million tonnes of rice, Anambra two million, while Ebonyi will produce five million tonnes of rice.

“With this target, I am very sure that each state would work toward achieving its goals and expectation,’’ he said.

Guana also called on government at all levels to support farmers with processing facilities, adding that the magnitude of food lost after harvest was alarming.

“If we have processing machines around the country, there will be much food left after harvest

Lagos reviews LAKE Rice sales, assures of availability

The Lagos State government has again assured residents of the availability of LAKE Rice at designated outlets across the State.

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Toyin Suarau, gave this assurance yesterday while reviewing sales reports of the product from retail outlets and centres. Suarau said the government was working assiduously to ensure availability of the product in outlets and centres experiencing short supply.

He assured residents that as from today, all designated retail outlets and centres will have enough supply of the product to meet growing demands.

While defending the resolve of government to distribute and retail the product on senatorial district basis using designated outlets, the Commissioner said the idea was mooted to ensure fair distribution, availability of the product to residents and to guard against unwanted persons diverting the product.

“The product, which is packaged in 50kg, 25kg and 10kg bags, is being sold at N12,000, N6,000 and N2,500 respectively,” Suarau said.

He added that residents who reside within Lagos Central Senatorial District can get the product in Ajah at Agric Area Office, Ajah; Lagos Island at LATMA Works yard, Lagos Island; Ajegunle at Alakoto Senior High School, Tolu; Surulere at Teslim Balogun Stadium; and Yaba at Mobolaji Johnson Sports Centre, Rowe Park.

Suarau noted that the product will also be available to residents in the Lagos East Senatorial District at designated centres, including Odogunyan Farm Service Centre, Ikorodu; Temu Farm Service Centre, Epe; Noforija Town Hall, Eredo; Magbon Alade School, Ibeju Lekki; and State Universal Basic Education Board premises, Maryland.

 

“The product is also for sale at the following locations in Lagos West Senatorial District; Lagos State Agricultural Development Authority (LSADA)/Farm Service Centre, Oko-oba, Agege; Lagos Agricultural Inputs Supply Authority (LAISA), Ojo; Farm Service Centre, Marina-Badagry; and Ikeja Grammar School, Bolade, Oshodi,” the Commissioner stated.

LAKE Rice, is an acronym for LAGOS-KEBBI Rice, which is a product of the collaboration between Lagos and Kebbi State for the development of agricultural commodities like rice, wheat, groundnut, onions, maize/sorghum and beef value chains. According to Suarau, the collaboration will ensure that quality rice emanates from the 2.5 metric tonne-capacity mills to boost food production in Lagos State.

Gov Bagudu - How Kebbi Actualised Rice Dream

For the first time, Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Abubakar Bagudu, has revealed the strategies adopted by his administration to turn the state into the leading rice-producing centre in Nigeria, giving farmers real value for their labour and investments in the process.

Bagudu, who spoke in an exclusive interview with Vanguard, said his love for his people and the need to create a sustainable means of livelihood for them, motivated him to take what he calls ‘unusual steps’ to transform rice business farming in the state into a business venture.

The governor disclosed that on assuming office and discovering the huge rice potentialities in his state, he immediately put down a princely sum of N4 billion as seed money to convince the Bank of Industry and the Central Bank of Nigeria of its readiness to partner with them in giving financial assistance and inputs to rice farmers in the state to go into commercial farming.

He pointed out that with the capital outlay and the agreement it entered into the with the BOI, his administration also designed a template where each farmer agreed to produce at least six tonnes of rice per hectare of land after being given a minimum of N210,000 per hectare to cover farm inputs and seedlings.

The governor said that under the arrangement, no fewer than 78,000 farmers had been fully registered under the state’s rice programme with the Central Bank of Nigeria, known as Anchors Borrowers Programme, ABP.

Bagudu, who expressed satisfaction with the results of the state’s collaboration with the CBN and the BOI in pushing the rice revolution agenda, disclosed that Kebbi State has been able to produce 1.4 million tonnes of rice this year as a result of the effort.

The governor said: “We have had very successful dry and wet rice farming seasons and as a result, farmers in Kebbi State have recorded at least 1.4 million tonnes of rice this year.

‘’The next thing we need to do is to handle the distribution of the rice we have produced so that Nigerians can begin see the local rice, which is by far better than the imported paddy rice from outside.”

“To be able to do that successfully, we are going into partnership with Lagos State, which is like a window to the world and we are going to mobilise all stakeholders, including market women, to be shareholders in the plant we are going to use in processing and distributing rice from Lagos.’’

Bagudu, who is also the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Rice and Wheat Production in Nigeria, expressed optimism that Nigeria might have attained self-sufficiency in rice production, considering the fact that all the rice millers in the country currently had enough stock to process and sell to the market.

“My thinking is that we have achieved self sufficiency in rice because as we speak, we have enough paddy rice for millers across the country. ‘’I can tell you that there is no miller in Nigeria today who does not have enough stock to process.

This gives us the confidence that Nigeria may be self sufficient in rice production,” the governor said.

He said a total of sum of N27 billion disbursed to 219,837 small holder rice farmers nationwide, who have successfully cultivated at least 246,837 hectares of rice under the ABP.

Bagudu said that no fewer than 17 states in the country had so far keyed into the ABP rice programme cultivating at least two commodities with comparative advantage to the respective states.

Contaminated, not Plastic —NAFDAC

The heightened tension over the importation of plastic rice into Nigeria has been clarified by National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, which said that there was no plastic rice in the country.

However, NAFDAC’s Acting Director General, Mrs. Yetunde Oni, at a joint briefing with the Deputy Comptroller-General of Nigeria Custom Service, Mr. Umar Ilya, confirmed that a consignment of contaminated rice is in the country and warned Nigerians not to consume same, as it could be injurious to health.

The NAFDAC boss also presented the final laboratory result on the suspected commodity, confirming that although the rice is not plastic, it is unsuitable for human consumption.

 Oni said the agency had, therefore, decided to set a date for public destruction of the confiscated consignment since it had failed what she called integrity test.

Oni said: “Based on the above laboratory result, the product is not plastic but rice contaminated with micro organisms above permissible limit, hence the seized rice consignment is unsatisfactory and, therefore, unwholesome for human consumption. 

The consignment, upon handover by the Nigeria Customs Service, shall be destroyed.”

The Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr. Ilya, announced that the service had begun a vigorous move to stem the tide of smuggling of rice into Nigeria so as to reduce the adverse economic impact on the country and its people.

Ilya, who gave a warning signal to rice smugglers, noted that the service had shared the over 40,000 bags of rice seized in recent times to Internally Displace Persons, IDPs, in the North-East and would continue to embark on such raids on rice smuggling routes until the illegal practice was stamped out.

He warned that irrespective of the outcome of the findings by NAFDAC, the NCS would continue with its drive of ensuring that fake and banned goods were not allowed into the country.

He said as part of the move to curb illegal importation, the NCS would, henceforth, be going after the banned goods and the owners of the means of transportation used in ferrying the goods into and within the country to serve as a deterrent to potential smugglers.