From: Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin-Kebbi
The first indigenous Rice Mills in Kebbi State, Labana Rice Mills, has said that arrangements are on going to start exporting parboiled rice to countries under Economy Community of West African States ( ECOWAS).
General Manager of the Company, Alhaji Abdullahi Idris Zuru, who confirmed this while speaking with Daily Sun, in interview, said that few of stakeholders among ECOWAS have visited the company to discuss the modernity and arrangement that would benefits all the parties.
Said he, “We are in front lane in this business and as I am talking to you we have distributors across Nigeria including Sokoto,Kaduna, Kano,Ilorin,Zamfara even we wanted to establish in Borno state but the insecurity in the state prevented us. As soon as security restored, we shall be there. That is why, we are not threaten by the new Rice Mills coming up.
“Few weeks ago after understudies us for more than year, SON certified our product good enough to be exporting to other countries.
“We are discussing with business partners under ECOWAS which including
Niger, Benin, Mali,and others. Many of them have visited Labana to discuss
with us and they were confused and ready to partner with us because of our product standard.”
Zuru also added that Labana Rice Mills has created employment for more than 7,500 farmers in the state as well as 1,500 skilled and unskilled workers stressed that if more investors established Rice Mills in the state, it would reduced unemployment rate.
” To start with, Labana believed in the diversification of Economy of Federal Government. We don’t see new coming Rice Mills as competitors but
partners in business. It is good for our nation’s economy that many of them are coming up. It will reduced poverty, create more employment opportunities for our youths and provides ready market for farmers to sell their paddy rice.
” We are supporting the new ones because it will also help us to feed the nation as well creating avenues for us to export our parboiled rice to other countries. We have put in our best in this business
and our quality production is speaking for us everywhere. “