The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday, inaugurated a rice milling factory in Kano State, with a capacity of 420 metric tonnes per day.
The factory was established by a Kano businessman and industrialist, Alhaji Gerawa, at a cost of N15bn. The CBN governor said the establishment of the factory was in line with the Federal Government’s commitment towards ensuring food security in the country.
He said, “As we increase the milling capacity of rice nationwide, we are encouraging all rice mills to embrace our backward integration program, and get involved in paddy production to guarantee sustainable supply of paddy to your mills and complement the supply from smallholder farmers through our partnership with the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria.
“The private sector-led Accelerated Agriculture Development Scheme provides long-term financing options to millers to finance commercial farms, land development, irrigation facilities, and other agriculture infrastructure that will enhance the production plan.
“As Nigerians, we need to become more patriotic and embrace Mr President’s mantra of producing what we eat, and eat what we grow.”
The Central Bank Governor noted that before the launch of the Anchor Borrowers Programme in Nigeria, there were less than 10 functional rice mills with a combined capacity of 350,000 metric tonnes.
“These have increased to over 60 integrated mills with combined capacity of over three million metric tonnes as at today, with about 10 more mills scheduled to be commissioned this year,” he added.
In his remarks, the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, said that the state is surrounded by dams and rivers, which give farmers the opportunity for growing rice, tomato and other crops.
