In order to boost food production, the Lagos State Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the South West Agricultural Company (SWAgCo) on rice production.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture, Dr Oluwarotimi Fashola said that the MoU is not only vital but also germane to the progress of the rice value chain within the length and breadth of the state.
Fashola pointed out that Lagos needs to produce at least 40 percent of the paddy needed at the Imota Rice mill, adding that to achieve this lofty goal, SWAgCo would assist the state rice farmers in skill development and sundry capacity building.
He also noted that his team and SWAgCO would be meeting with the rice farmers across various divisions, stressing that the state’s 500 hectares of land at Eggua, Ogun State, as well as other rice fields spread across Lagos would also be utilised to achieve the goals.
Fashola said that the success of the pilot phase conducted in the Badagry division with 100 hectares with the rice farmers has led credence to the workability of the innovative ideas the collaboration of the Ministry of Agriculture and SWAgCO would birth.
The Managing Director of SWAgCO, Mr Babajide Arowosafe said that what makes the state government stand out amongst its contemporaries is Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s passion for the rice value chain’s development and the unrivalled speed at which the state operates towards agricultural development.
Arowosafe, who is also SWAgCO Team Lead, said the Imota Rice Mill is an added advantage the state has over the other South West States like Ogun, Oyo, Ondo and Osun, maintaining that the MoU would give significant mileage to the food production efforts of the state.
