Ismail Adebayo in Birnin Kebbi
Labana rice mills in Kebbi State said it has completed plans to increase its annual rice production from 120,000 to 300,000 metric tons capacity.
The chairman of Labana rice mills, a subsidiary of Labana rice farms, Alhaji Abubakar Abba Aliero said the firm's overall annual rice production target which will be over 300,000 metric tons will make it the largest rice producer in the whole of Africa.
He said presently the rice mills 16 tons production per hour has the capacity to produce 120,000 metric tons of rice annually. He explained that its out-growers are established by the firm to complement and provide reasonable raw material facilities to the annual requirements of Labana rice mills.
The chairman said the Benin Republic Government has entered into talks with Labana for the cultivation of 30,000 hectares of rice farm.
The Benin Republic team led by a minister of state for Agriculture, Issa Sale Salihu, the country's deputy ambassador to Nigeria, and one other top government officials were delegated by their home government to visit the 10,000 hectares of Labana rice farms at Gante village in Bagudo local government area of Kebbi state.
While addressing journalists at the 10,000 hectares of Labana rice farm at Gante in Bagudo local government area of Kebbi state the minister who led the team said the Benin Republic was impressed and motivated to partner with Labana rice farms because of the way it set up its model mechanized rice farms.
He said by early next year, Benin Republic and Labana ventures are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the establishment of 30,000 hectares of rice farm in the Benin Republic. "Establishing the farm in Benin in partnership with Labana farms would assist to create employment and boost rice production in Nigeria and the Benin Republic", he said.
He added that his country would provide 30,000 hectares of land to Labana ventures for the production of the rice which is expected to be cultivated twice a year.
The Head of the Benin Republic team explains that part of the agreements to be reached is that, after harvesting, Labana would process and market the product but would pay a certain percent to the Benin Republic as revenue and as well employ its citizens.
While responding, the Chairman of Labana farms, Alhaji Abubakar Abba Aliero said the partnership between the Benin Republic and Labana Ventures would boost rice cultivation in Nigeria and Benin Republic.
"It is a welcome development. Soon I will lead a team of the rice farm management to the Benin Republic for the signing of the MoU. The rice farm, in the last five years, has been producing over 70,000 tons of paddy rice annually through mechanized methods. It will be good to partner with Benin to boost rice production".
He said Labana ventures over the years, has been assisting the host communities with free rice seedlings, fertilizer, and pesticides as part of its corporate social responsibilities while acknowledging the intervention of the federal government in erecting embarkment between the farm and river Niger to prevent flooding which affected it last year.
The rice mills' general manager, Abdullahi Zuru said 10,000 hectares of rice farms are being cultivated twice annually during the wet and dry seasons. He said the rice farm was established to serve as a source of raw materials for Labana rice mills.
"The farm was primarily established to serve as a feeder and one of the sources of raw materials to Labana rice mills. It provides 50 percent of rice paddy requirement for the mills", the company manager said.
The company's GM said Labana rice mills buy its paddy from Labana rice farms even though they are sister companies, they are independent of each other. "That's what we called backward integration under the agricultural program", he said.
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