With over 102,000 metric tons produced during the wet and dry seasons of this year, Kwara state has joined the top states in rice production in Nigeria.
This was stated in an official document issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria to commemorate the return of the rice pyramid in Nigeria.
The North Central state, which contributed over 40,000 metric tons of rice paddy to the recently unveiled rice pyramid in Abuja, was not considered a rice producing state prior to the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, but today, the state has emerged as one of the top producers in the country, thanks to the efforts of the state’s Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN).
Dr. Ahmed Saba, the chairman of the RIFAN in Kwara state, commented on the development, saying, “we thought we didn’t do enough in our production, until we got to Abuja, where the Central Bank of Nigeria, who is in charge of the anchor borrowers programme, unveiled the data, showing that Kwara state actually did better than we thought, by being among the top rice producing states in the country.”
Kwara state produced 62,332 metric tons of rice paddy during the dry season and 40,000 metric tons during the wet season, for a total of 102,332 metric tons, according to Dr. Saba.
Dr. Saba thanked the president of RIFAN, Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Kwara state government for creating an enabling environment and providing support for the program.
“We must commend the federal government of Nigeria, particularly the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), for instituting a policy that has enabled farmers to access resources like never before, across the entire value chain, from cultivation to harvest and sale, and especially the Ilorin team, which has provided invaluable assistance to RIFAN during some emergency moments.”
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Dr. Ahmed Saba also praised the Kwara state government for its openness and tolerance of ideas, stating that nothing tangible could have been accomplished without the enabling environment provided by the state government.
Since the emergence of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq in Kwara State, the state has aggressively embraced the President’s rice revolution, resulting in significant increases in rice production during the dry and wet seasons, surpassing many states across the federation.
