Dangote, Tambuwal launch Rice Outgrowers' Scheme in Sokoto

Nigeria’s quest for food security has received a boost from the Gover­nor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State and the Presi­dent of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Muhammed.
The eminent Nigerian lead­ers on Wednesday kicked off a rice outgrowers’ scheme which covers 25,000 hectares of farmland in some selected local government areas of So­koto State.

At the site of the event held in Goronyo Dam, Dangote said that the project would within the next three years produce at least one million tonnes of high-quality par­boiled rice for the Nigerian market.
The business mogul and Africa’s richest man disclosed that to achieve the goal, his company would cultivate 160,000 hectares of irrigable rice farmlands in selected states, including Sokoto, which would be cultivated to grow paddy during two crop­ping seasons per year.
Dangote said: “With this, we hope to achieve a mini­mum yield of five to six tonnes per hectare. Our plans are to off-take not less than 80 per cent of the paddy produced by the outgrowers. We will also develop our farm operations to include seed multiplication capabilities.”
According to him, Dangote Rice Limited aims to boost the local economy, create jobs along the value chain and make a significant contribu­tion to the transformation of subsistence farms into mar­ket-oriented agribusinesses.
In his address, Governor Tambuwal commended Dan­gote for bringing the project to Sokoto State. He said that the renewed efforts of his ad­ministration to develop the sector had started yielding positive results.
The governor said that edu­cation and agriculture have remained the top sectors in the priority list of the state government in the last two years, adding that this year, the state had allocated more resources to agriculture than all the states of the federation.
Tambuwal said: “We have had a series of visits to differ­ent countries and signed vari­ous Memoranda of Under­standing (MoUs) with many organisations and entities, Dangote inclusive, with a view to uplifting agriculture in the state.
“So the Dangote Rice Proj­ect in Sokoto State will not only provide food security and employment for our teeming unemployed youths, it would ensure the overall develop­ment of agricultural activities in the state,” he added.
Tambuwal said that neces­sary incentives have been put in place to ensure smooth op­eration of the scheme.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Mu­hammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, urged the people to embrace the opportunity offered by Dangote to improve their farming technique and stan­dard of living.
He said that the people of Sokoto were grateful for the opportunity and will mobilise needed resources to ensure its success.