The Anambra State Commissioner for Agriculture, Afam Mbanefo, said on Monday that the state has reached self-sufficiency in rice production.
Bags of rice
Speaking at a Commodity Alliance Forum/Consultative meeting organised by the Anambra State Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) in Awka, the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Afam Mbanefo, said on Monday that the state has reached self-sufficiency in rice production.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the commissioner recalled that the state government had earlier targeted production of 210,000 metric tonnes of rice per annum.
“Based on the calculation of our expected yield, we are expecting to realize over 236,000 metric tonnes of rice in 2016 based on the production capacity.”
He said the calculation was based on expected yield of 35% of over 14,300 farmers and the activities of programmes like the VCDP and FADAMA, adding that the expected yield also included the activities of rice investors in the state, including Coscharis farms, Joseph Agro and others.
The commissioner who disclosed that the state government was passionate about revolutionizing agriculture and making it wealth creator, especially for unemployed youth willing to venture into the sector, added that the state government ensured a linkage between farmers and off-takers, and advised farmers yet to form cooperatives to do so.