The Kebbi State Governor, Alh. Abubakar Bagudu, on Tuesday disclosed that the partnership agreement with Lagos State to produce the popular Lake Rice caused huge demand for local rice in the country.
Bagudu said the inter state co-operation between Kebbi and Lagos state governments made many Nigerians to appreciate local rice consumption, especially for its nutritional benefits and affordability.
The Governor, who spoke while briefing the media at the Government House canvassed for greater collaborations among state governments to help achieve nationwide food security and promote national development.
“The people of Lagos saw it as a good product better than the imported ones. That created demand for Nigerian Rice in general, not Kebbi rice because they have an enlightened market.”
Bagudu, who acknowledged the acceptance by the Lagos State traders said the traders often determines mood of the nation in terms of product.
“They supported the programme and demand was created,” he added while citing the subsidy on rice sales by the State government.
He said the millers, through partnership with the state government benefitted from federal government intervention.
“Just last week, I had a meeting with traders association and millers in Daleko, Iddo and other markets. They shared their experiences and they were absolute and categorical that the Nigerian Rice is better than imported ones. We spoke about how to make it better through better supply chain and make it affordable.”
Speaking on the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP), he said before it extended to other states, 70,000 Kebbi state rice farmers piloted the project.
He said this became imperative to examine the impact, adding that for the 70, 000 farmers, they got six bags of fertiliser each, summed to 420, 000 bags.
The governor noted that 140, 000 water pumps were required at two pumps per farmer, adding that the input supply affected the model.
“The objective of the model is to have Nigerian rice which later beat Nigeria’s imaginations and it contributed to our exit from recession in a short time.
“Secondly, it was targeted to create employment which it did. When you give 70,000 farmers supports, there are bound to be defaults. Farmers are businessmen like in other sectors,” he said.
Justifying why agriculture should be treated as a business, Bagudu cited instance of Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) which got N4 trillion funding from the federal government solely to clear bad debts.
“When the AMCON was created in 2010, it was to take over bad loans from the commercial banking system. It was paid N4 trillion. That money was not agricultural related, it oil and gas and share certificates.
“So that spending of N54 billion has resulted in the magic we have seen in terms of food production, I think it is a bigger story than the occasioned repayment challenges,” he said while calling for greater support for the agricultural sector.