NIGERIA – Azman Rice Mills and Farms Limited, a Nigerian rice processing company has singed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kano State Government that seeks o boost rice production in the State.
The agreement will see the company cultivate upto 20, 400 hectares of land for production of rice.
According to Abdullahi Sule, Nasarawa State Governor, the area to be put under the project had been mapped out by the state Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning and the host communities had given full consent for the commencement of the project.
Azman Limited would lease the land for a period of 45 years at a sum of N30,000 per hectare amounting to N612m (US$1.69m).
In addition to that the company would pay a compensation of N372m (US$1.03m) to the landowners, reports The Punch.
According to the governor all legal fees pertaining to the tripartite negotiations between the host community, government and the company would be settled by Azman Group, adding that full compensation would be paid before cultivation.
The local residents will also benefit from the project by creating employment opportunities.
“The major reason of signing the MOU is to bring major commercial farmers to the state and create job opportunities for the teeming youths in the state,” the governor said.
As part of the accruing benefits, he explained that the farm will be a testing ground for various species of rice which will attract the attention of the international community for further investment.
The company joins a several other competitors who have pitched tent in Kano state with an aim of consolidating their share in the sector.
In April 2019, Stallion Group, a Dubai-based conglomerate through its Nigerian Subsidiary, Popular Farms and Mills Limited inaugurated a new rice milling in Kano State, Nigeria to boost rice production in the country.
The firm invested about US$22.19million (N8bn) for establishing the facility which has a milling capacity of 430,000 metric tons per annum.
They source rice from about 40,000 farmers in Nigeria as it targets to process 1.50 million tons of paddy rice annually, spearheading Nigerian’s rice production revolution to self-sufficiency.
Popular Farms and Mills Limited have also established 16 Agricultural Centres across the country to support its backward integration activities, through trainings, input distribution, quality test, transit storage, certified seeds and fertilizers enhancement.
