Kwara produces over 102,000 metric tons of rice paddy to join top rice producing states

Kwara state has joined top states in rice production in Nigeria with its over 102,000 metric tons output during wet and dry season of this past year.

This was contained in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official document, celebrating the return of rice pyramid in Nigeria.

The North Central state, which contributed over 40,000 metric tons of rice paddy to the recently unveiled rice pyramid in Abuja, was not considered a rice producing state before the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, but today, the state as emerged among the top producers in the country, courtesy of the efforts of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) in the state.

Speaking on the development, the Kwara state chairman of the RIFAN, Dr. Ahmed Saba, said that, “we thought we didn’t do enough in our production, until we got to Abuja, where the Central Bank of Nigeria, who is in charge of the anchor borrowers programme, unveiled the data, showing that Kwara state actually did better than we thought, by being among the top rice producing states in the country”.

According to Dr. Saba, Kwara state produced 62,332 metric tons of rice paddy during the dry season and 40,000 metric tons during the wet season, making a total of 102,332 metric tons.

Commending those who made the feat possible, Dr. Saba thanked the president of RIFAN, Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, and the Central Bank of Nigeria as well as the Kwara state government for providing enabling environment and support for the programme.

“We must give kudos to the federal government of Nigeria, particularly the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for initiating a policy that enable farmers to access resources like never before, across all the value chain, from cultivation to harvest and sale, particularly the Ilorin team, who supported RIFAN immensely during some emergency moments”

Dr. Ahmed Saba also praised the Kwara state government for its openness and accommodation of ideas, saying that without the enabling environment provided by the state government, nothing tangible could have been achieved.

Since the emergence of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq in Kwara State, the state has keyed into President administration’s rice revolution in an aggressive manner and this saw its rice production rise significantly within the dry and wet season, surpassing many states across the federation.