The goal of WACOT Rice Limited is to play an active role in
reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported rice. Accordingly, the company
intends to increase its rice milling capacity in Nigeria to 500,000 metric
tonnes per annum in the next few years.
This was disclosed on Tuesday, August 1, 2017 by Mr. Rahul
Savara, Group Managing Director of the TGI Group, the parent company of WACOT
Limited, during the official opening of the WACOT Rice Mill located in Argungu,
Kebbi State, by the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.
The Acting President was accompanied during the visit by the
Governor of Kebbi State, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu and the other 23 members
of the Progressive Governors Forum, and other dignitaries from both the public
and private sectors.
Welcoming the guests, Mr. Savara stated that the quality of
rice being produced at the mill is comparable to the best in the world. The
current phase of the Rice Mill, he further disclosed, has a production capacity
of 120,000 metric tons per annum andfully automated silos that have the
capacity to store raw materials for up to six months of production.
The state-of-the-art rice mill with a capital outlay of over
=N= 10 Billion capable of processing over 120,000 metric tonnes of paddy per
annum is also expected to generate direct and indirect employment for 3,500
people and its procurement of rice paddy will reach out to at least 50,000
local farmers, as the capacity grows.
He appreciated the effort of the federal government for its
various initiatives in support of agriculture through the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) and other mediums, which has impacted the growth of the sector
positively, and has also served as a motivation for private sector players in
the sector.
“Therefore, for us this is just the beginning. We have plans
to invest over =N= 100 billion over the next years in various agricultural
value chains.”
It is worthy of note that the rice processing plant is the
first rice mill to be conceptualized, executed and commissioned during the
administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. The construction of the mill was
first announced by the Governor of Kebbi State in November 2015, when President
Muhammadu Buhari launched the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers
Program in Birnin-Kebbi. Work started on
the mill in February 2016 and has now commenced operations.
WACOT, Nigeria’s leading Agri-business conglomerate,
contributes to achieving Nigeria’s objective of food self-sufficiency with
significant investments in seed multiplication, out-grower farming, food
processing and distribution.
Conducting dignitaries round the factory after the official
opening, the Managing Director of WACOT Ltd, Mr. Ujwalkanta Senapati, drew the
attention of the guests to the large stock-holding of paddy in the factory.
According to him, the paddy was purchased from local farmers who have been part
of the company’s out-growers scheme.
Mr. Senapati further explained that WACOT “sees farmers as
partners with whom we work together to improve agricultural production.”
In his remarks, the Acting President commended the TGI Group
for supporting and investing in the food security vision of the Federal
Government.
Acting President Osinbajo reiterated that the Federal
Government will in the remaining part of its tenure focus on agriculture and
food security, Energy, (power and petroleum,) industrialization and transport
infrastructure.
He also disclosed that the Federal Government will be
working with the private sector, giving them the necessary incentives and creating
an environment for them to invest and do business.
“This mill is important for several reasons. Firstly it
underscores the policies of the Federal Government that it is the private
sector that must be the engine of development. The private sector being the
engine of development is not just having the sector grow but the growth must be
growth with jobs the development we are talking about is growth with jobs. We
have seen a lot of jobless growth in some sector of the economy with a lot of
revenue coming in but with very few jobs.
With this Rice Mill, Several thousands of our farmers have
been engaged in farming, this is a growth with job and the Group Managing
Director has assured that in a couple of years, they expect to have engaged
50,000 more farmers. This is the kind of private sector led growth that we want
to see”, the Acting President added.
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