Cross River State governor, Senator Ben Ayade has hinted that the ultra-modern rice mill currently under construction in Ogoja Local Government Area will roll out its first wholly home- grown bagged rice by the end of December 2017.
Governor Ayade disclosed this at the Margaret Ekpo Int’l Airport, Calabar, during the week.
“Part of my trip itinerary was to inspect the manufacturing process of the rice mill which is the most sophisticated and digitalised facility you can ever find. It is the latest technology in rice processing in the world today,†he explained.
According to the governor, “Payment has already been made for the mill and we are awaiting delivery by end of October while installation will commence as soon as the equipment arrives. Hopefully, Cross River State will have its own home grown, milled and ready for consumption rice by December.â€
Ayade who lauded the foresight of President Muhammadu Buhari for his aggressive agricultural policy, maintained that : â€I agree with Mr. President, Muhammadu Buhari that we must think agriculture which is now yielding positive fruits across the country.â€
Governor Ayade also explained that “Our major focus is on agriculture, solid minerals and to a lesser extent oil and gas, adding that “In Cross River State, we had seen this coming which was why we set up the food bank and cotton cultivation with the focus to support our garment factory as a strategy for backward integration. We must find any means to earn money other than oil and gas.â€
Ayade who also enumerated other aspects of investments which the state has also gotten nods from partners explained that “we are also expanding into various aspects including the cultivation of corn because we are setting up a poultry farm which will require yellow maize as feeds.
“I will use this opportunity to call on Cross Riverians to as a matter of urgency, start arranging for their own farms. You must own a farm because if everyone owns a hectare or two, the impact on food supply will be humongous,†he stressed.
He hinted further that the government intends “to introduce the Israeli farming system where everyone owns a farm and what government will do is to harvest and process those proceeds for the benefit of everyone. We need massive supply of corn and we are making arrangement to introduce modern corn farming techniques that will require all hands to be on deck as farmers to achieve this.
“For our cocoa processing plant which is being handled by a firm in Switzerland, the manufacturing has reached 80 per cent completion. I’m talking about all the equipment required for cocoa processing including dryer. We are in addition, setting aside 100 hectares of land dedicated for the cultivation of a new breed of cocoa to support the proposed cocoa processing plant as well as provide us cocoa bags in readiness for export,†Ayade stated.
