Lagos state government has said that Eko brand of rice would be ready in six months. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who disclosed this in Lagos during inspection of Imota rice processing factory in Ikorodu, said this would be made possible through a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with Kebbi state on rice cultivation. During his visit to the factory, he was briefed on the present production capability of the Rice mill, which is presently stood at 2.5 metric tonnes/hour. He was told that the inadequacies of the rice mill include its low capacity to parboil and dry effectively. Responding, the governor reiterated government’s commitments in ensuring that Lagosians are fed with locally-cultivated rice of high nutritional quality. “This is the only platform we can use to allow the inflow of rice paddy from Kebbi State. You will all recall that we just signed a MoU with Kebbi State and the intention is that we want a consistent flow of raw materials to come so that the era of importing rice from abroad would become a thing of the past. “Asides Kebbi State, Lagos is also looking at possible partnership with other states on the long run, such collaboration will ensure that residents can consume locally processed rice within the next six months,” he noted. Ambode said the intention of his administration was to intervene and upgrade the facility to a standard that will achieve a 10 metric tonnes per hour production of rice and also invite private investors to complement the intervention with an additional 10 metric tonnes per hour. The governor also noted that a process to make the mill private sector driven would commence immediately, adding that a vibrant infrastructure that would attract the best professionals and experts to manage the facility would be put in place.
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