AgricultureBusinessEconomy

Buhari to unveil mega rice pyramids in Abuja – CBN

President Muhammadu Buhari will on Tuesday unveil the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) huge Rice Pyramids in Abuja.

Our Correspondent reports that the mega rice pyramids project is a collaboration of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN).

Information obtained from the apex bank’s official website stated that the pyramids, which it described as the largest in the world, were enabled by the its Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP).

It stated that the ABP, since inauguration in November,  2015, had increased the average yield of rice per hectare from 1.8 metric tonnes to five metric tonnes, while discouraging importation of the commodity.

“The ABP has enabled 95 per cent reduction of Nigeria’s annual rice import bill from 1.5 billion dollars in 2015  to 18.5 million dollars.

”It has also created 12.8 million direct and indirect jobs across different value chains and food belts of the country, ” it said.

The CBN stated that, in spite of challenges of flooding during the wet season, the COVID-19 pandemic and lingering insecurity in 2020 and 2021, it was still able to work with other stakeholders to inspire farmers to reap bountiful harvest.

It added that similar rice and maize pyramids had been unveiled in states like Kebbi,  Niger, Gombe,  Ekiti,  among others.

Meanwhile, some stakeholders have commended the apex bank for the ABP initiative and support to farmers.

A farmer,  Mr Abubakar Alli, said that the idea of the ABP, and CBN supporting state governments to boost food production had  been encouraging.

”I must commend the CBN for its support through the ABP toward rice production in Nigeria and supporting different state governments to boost production,” he said.

Also commending on the initiative, Chinonso Elendu, urged the authorities to ensure that farmers were safe in their farms.

“This is a very good move, but we need to make sure our farmers are safe and crops should be affordable to everyone,” he said.

According to Hussein Ibrahim, the unveiling of rice pyramids across the country, which indicates improved capacity to cultivate the crop should also make it cheap and affordable to the common man.

Our Correspondent reports that the Abuja mega rice pyramids are located at the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Trade Fair Complex, Abuja.

MAPOLY proposes N5m Agric Technology Department

The Acting Rector of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Dr Adeoye Odedeji says the institution has proposed a sum of N5 million to establish the department of agricultural technology.

Odedeji stated this when a group known as Ogun State Journalists in Agriculture recently paid him a courtesy visit at his office.

The acting rector, who lamented that paucity of funds had hindered the school from establishing the department, said the institution was liaising with the state government through the Ministry of Agriculture to make the dream a reality

He said the creation of the department was capital intensive, which includes procuring  tractors, bulldozers, harvester, among other expensive agricultural equipment that were needed to teach the students modern agricultural technology.

Odedeji noted that the department would cover other departments, such as Departments of Engineering and Fishery, among others, as well as educate students on how to be consultants to agric businessmen and guide them toward enhancing food security in the state and Nigeria as a whole.

He stated that the proposed agricultural technology department was a good project to commence in the institution because the management had shown the minister the demonstrated plantation farm as part of the conditions to create the department.

Odedeji said, “It is a proposal that we want to implement, we discovered that the money to implement it is huge. For example, for you to establish that department, you must have a tractor, a bulldozer, a grader and a harvester; these are some agricultural implements that are capital intensive.”

“So we may be thinking about N5 million to put it in place. It cannot just be one department, we will have agricultural engineering, agricultural technology, fishery, the total complement for it to be functional, and that is why we have a set-back in our situation.

“When the system becomes robust it is a good project to implement and we have already commenced by allowing the Minister of Agriculture to have that plantation, so that we can use it as a demonstration farm.

“The more agricultural students you train, the more people will become interested in agriculture and even if they do not go into agriculture they become consultants. They can consult for people in agric business; that is why we have the department for agric extension and rural development.”

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button