Niger state to produce 300,000 tons of paddy rice annually for Lagos Rice Mill

The agreement is part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) recently signed by the Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umar Bago, on food production and supply.

According to a post by the Senior Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on New Media, Jubril Gawat, on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Lagos State is expected to become the major off-taker of paddy rice from Niger State, with the new agreement.

Gawat also noted that with the agreement, the 3-year off-take programme will enhance rice production and aggregation in Lagos State.

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... also noted that the Lagos Commodities Exchange will raise N100 billion in food security funds from the capital market to support the Niger State Commodity ecosystem.

He added,

Naijaonpoint had earlier reported that the Governors of Lagos and Niger state had signed an MoU in Lagos, initiating a collaboration aimed at leveraging their unique advantages.

This partnership is intended to ensure a steady flow of agricultural products to consumers.

This agreement, known as the “Produce for Lagos Initiative,” is an effort by both states to participate in the Emergency Food Security Initiative, planning to cultivate thousands of hectares to maintain a consistent food production and supply chain.

Recall that in March March 2016, the Lagos State Government led by the then Governor, Akinwumi Ambode and his then Kebbi State counterpart, Atiku Bagudu, signed a memorandum of understanding for the production of made-in-Nigeria rice, then called LAKE rice.

This move, according to the 2 governors, was in fulfilment of the promises of former President Muhammad Buhari in 2015 to grow agriculture and ensure food sufficiency.

However, the initiative appeared to have gone the way of some government programmes as it went comatose after initial success.