Dangote Industries Limited on Friday promulgated a $1bn (N165bn) investment for commercial rice farming and modern integrated rice mills to be run by the firm in Nigeria.
The President and Chairman, Dangote Group, Mr. Aliko Dangote, promulgated his firm’s investment plan at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Abuja.
Dangote, who led a delegation from his firm to the ministry, later proceeded to the Presidential Villa for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Regime.
He told ministry officials and journalists that the decision to invest in rice engenderment was aimed at developing Nigeria’s economy through agriculture.
He verbalized the investment would further boosts the Federal Government’s drive to procure food sufficiency in Nigeria, integrating that in the next four years Nigeria would become an exporter of rice.
Dangote verbalized once his rice industry commences engenderment, the price of locally engendered rice “will be definitely more frugal than the imported ones and this will engender room for a plethora of investments in the sector.”
He integrated, “With rice as a major staple, we have placed total sufficiency in rice engenderment as a major priority for our country and key value chain for our economy.
“Today’s signing ceremony marks a revolutionary tipping point by the Dangote Group to make Nigeria a net exporter of rice within the next few years as well as boosting inclusive wealth engenderment and employment generation.”
Dangote verbalized his firm had acquired farmlands in Edo, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara and Niger states totalling 150,000 hectares to be utilized for the commercial engenderment of rice paddy.
He noted that his industry would establish two state of the art sizably voluminous scale rice mills each with a capacity to mill 120,000 metric tons of rice per day, bringing total capacity to 240.000MT, with plans to double the figure in two years.
“With this installed capacity, the project will become the most astronomically immense integrated rice mill in Africa,” Dangote verbally expressed.
In his remarks, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, verbalized that the Dangote farms and mills were expected to significantly boost minuscule-holder rice engenderment in the regions through a nucleus and out-grower farming model.
This, he verbally expressed, would directly transform livelihoods in rural Nigeria as the sites culled were rice-growing communities that will be fortified by Dangote’s provision of agro-inputs, training and marketing linkages to ameliorate community-farming.
He verbalized employment opportunities for at least 8,000 Nigerians would be engendered by the massive investment.
Akinwumi verbally expressed, “This investment by Dangote Industries is transformational for Nigeria and the rest of Africa. Nigeria has no business importing rice. Our goal is to become self-sufficient in rice and become a global powerhouse in food and agriculture markets.
“Through this billion dollar commitment, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s leading businessman, has pellucidly attested to the policies and approach that the Federal Regime has undertaken to transform the nation’s agricultural sector.”
The minister assured the delegation that the Federal Regime would stop the smuggling of peregrine rice into Nigeria from neighbouring countries.
According to him, his ministry would ascertain that no individual sabotaged the drive to make Nigeria an exporter of rice.
“We will culminate smuggling because we cannot mortgage our future and I optate to assure you that regime is visually examining this issue critically,” Adesina verbally expressed.
The President and Chairman, Dangote Group, Mr. Aliko Dangote, promulgated his firm’s investment plan at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Abuja.
Dangote, who led a delegation from his firm to the ministry, later proceeded to the Presidential Villa for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Regime.
He told ministry officials and journalists that the decision to invest in rice engenderment was aimed at developing Nigeria’s economy through agriculture.
He verbalized the investment would further boosts the Federal Government’s drive to procure food sufficiency in Nigeria, integrating that in the next four years Nigeria would become an exporter of rice.
Dangote verbalized once his rice industry commences engenderment, the price of locally engendered rice “will be definitely more frugal than the imported ones and this will engender room for a plethora of investments in the sector.”
He integrated, “With rice as a major staple, we have placed total sufficiency in rice engenderment as a major priority for our country and key value chain for our economy.
“Today’s signing ceremony marks a revolutionary tipping point by the Dangote Group to make Nigeria a net exporter of rice within the next few years as well as boosting inclusive wealth engenderment and employment generation.”
Dangote verbalized his firm had acquired farmlands in Edo, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara and Niger states totalling 150,000 hectares to be utilized for the commercial engenderment of rice paddy.
He noted that his industry would establish two state of the art sizably voluminous scale rice mills each with a capacity to mill 120,000 metric tons of rice per day, bringing total capacity to 240.000MT, with plans to double the figure in two years.
“With this installed capacity, the project will become the most astronomically immense integrated rice mill in Africa,” Dangote verbally expressed.
In his remarks, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, verbalized that the Dangote farms and mills were expected to significantly boost minuscule-holder rice engenderment in the regions through a nucleus and out-grower farming model.
This, he verbally expressed, would directly transform livelihoods in rural Nigeria as the sites culled were rice-growing communities that will be fortified by Dangote’s provision of agro-inputs, training and marketing linkages to ameliorate community-farming.
He verbalized employment opportunities for at least 8,000 Nigerians would be engendered by the massive investment.
Akinwumi verbally expressed, “This investment by Dangote Industries is transformational for Nigeria and the rest of Africa. Nigeria has no business importing rice. Our goal is to become self-sufficient in rice and become a global powerhouse in food and agriculture markets.
“Through this billion dollar commitment, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s leading businessman, has pellucidly attested to the policies and approach that the Federal Regime has undertaken to transform the nation’s agricultural sector.”
The minister assured the delegation that the Federal Regime would stop the smuggling of peregrine rice into Nigeria from neighbouring countries.
According to him, his ministry would ascertain that no individual sabotaged the drive to make Nigeria an exporter of rice.
“We will culminate smuggling because we cannot mortgage our future and I optate to assure you that regime is visually examining this issue critically,” Adesina verbally expressed.
