Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse
President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, recently laid the foundation stone for the construction of a multi-billion-naira rice processing mill in Hadin, Jigawa State.
The mill, with a capacity to process 16 metric tonnes of paddy rice per hour, is expected to process paddy rice worth N14 billion bought directly from famers in Jigawa at market rates.
Speaking at the event in Hadin, Kaugama Local Government Area, Dangote said the commencement of the construction of the integrated rice processing plant was the culmination of a series of events that began with the signing of a $1 billion agreement with the federal government for integrated rice production in Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kano, Niger and Jigawa states.
“We have continued to pioneer new approaches to empowering our primary stakeholders and our farmers, through the Dangote out-growers programme, thereby creating thousands of jobs, increasing incomes, poverty reduction in rural communities by providing high-quality agro-inputs, technical support and secured market for farmers. Also, creating access to finance, mechanisation and irrigation services so as to enhance agricultural productivity,” he said.
Recalling that the out-growers scheme was started in 2016 with thousands of hectares of land in Hadejia, Jigawa State, creating over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs to farmers, Dangote said, with the new ultra-modern mill, enough paddy rice would be grown and harvested for processing.
He said five other mills would be erected in Kano, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi and Niger states in the first phase, while in the second phase other mills would be built in Nasarawa and Kogi, among other states.
Said he: “When these planned six mills come fully on stream, we will achieve a capacity of 700,000 metric tonnes per annum of parboiled rice, which will make Dangote Rice the largest rice producer in Africa and will make a bold step in making Nigeria self-sufficient in rice production, stop importation and save the nation foreign exchange.”
Dangote stated further, that towards co-creating value for all stakeholders, the company has engaged about 20,000 out-growers who are expected to produce an average of 180,000 tonnes of paddy rice on about 30,000 hectares of land.
“We are focused on engaging in the region of 300,000 farmers in the next 12 months when our rice mills are all functional and we achieve steady state.
“We will continue to launch massive agricultural projects across the country in rice and dairy farming. Our push for backward integration in providing our own raw materials on a massive scale has led to the planned investment of $4.6 billion over the next three years in sugar, rice and dairy production alone. That will eliminate the country’s reliance on imported materials, and the foreign exchange headaches that come with it.”
In his opening remarks, the Dangote Group’s executive director, Devakumar Edwin, explained that the Dangote Rice team had been involved in scaling up out-grower operations to a least 5,000 hectares this season. He said it would soon increase to over 15,000 hectares.
Edwin said the new mill was earmarked to begin operations in the last quarter of 2018. “When it becomes fully operational, hundreds of employment opportunities will be created, as well as knowledge transference and skills developed among our teeming youthful population,” he said.
“Jigawa famers are in for good times. The 125,000 metric tonnes of paddy rice that this plant requires for processing will be brought from the farmers of Jigawa for an estimated purchase price of N14 billion per annum. This is a huge benefit for the farmers in Jigawa.
“Jigawa State is endowed and blessed with vast fertile land, water resources, climate and progressive people, as well as one of the fastest growing agricultural destinations in Nigeria. This obviously reinforces our commitment to supporting the efforts of the present administration in developing a robust agro-industry in Nigeria.”
Jigawa State governor, Alhaji Abubakar Badaru, expressed delight at the extent of the Dangote Rice project in the state, saying it was in line with the vision of the Invest Jigawa, an organ set up to accelerate investments in the state.
Badaru said Jigawa was one of the states reputed to be on top in the ease of doing business in Nigeria, noting that the presence of Dangote Rice in the state was a pointer to the fact. He added that the state was also in the forefront of the diversification efforts of the federal government from oil to non-oil ventures, especially agriculture.
The governor promised that the state would be willing to do whatever it might take to ensure that Dangote Rice operated smoothly to the satisfaction of all parties in the state
Emir of Hadejia, Alhaji Abubakar Maje, expressed gratitude to God and to the president of the Dangote Group for choosing the area for the siting of a rice mill.
The emir said: “The siting of this mill here in Hadejia will undoubtedly erase the massive rural to urban drift by able-bodied youths that go out in search of stipends.
“There would be no reason for our youths to move away to certain parts of the country chasing N2,000 when they have an opportunity to earn more than N20,000 here at home.”
Some rice farmers who expressed delight over the mill told Daily Sun that, aside from job creation, the presence of the mill would encourage other business opportunities to thrive within the Hadejia valley.
Mallam Dalhatu Atafi, 62, said he had been a rice farmer for a long time and hoped that the rice mill would be an enduring project.
“In the past, the state government advised and encouraged us to go into massive sugar cane farming, only for the activity to be neglected due to political reasons,” he said. He urged the present government to be truly committed to the process.