A lecturer, Dr Awotein George, has lauded Federal Government’s plan to distribute 200 rice milling machines to farmers across the county.
He gave the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Sunday.
He said that the measure would reduce the burden of rice farmers in Rivers in particular and the country in general.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe, announced the government’s proposal in Port Harcourt two weeks ago.
George, the Head of Department (HOD), Fisheries and Aquatic Environment, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, said the lack of milling machines had Affected rice farmers’ ability to boost production in the state.
He said rice farmers in the state had to transport their produce to Ebonyi in South East for milling, pointing out that the situation had increased the production cost of the commodity.
He added that “know a rice farmer in this state, Mrs Ann Amos, who transported bags of rice she produced to Ebony State to mill due to the lack of functional milling facilities The state.
“The woman’s experience was enough to discourage her from cultivating rice. You can imagine a rice farmer in Rivers carrying the rice she produced to Ebony to mill.”
The don advised the Federal Ministry of agriculture to ensure that the distribution of the 200 milling machines was not hijacked by politicians.
George noted that rice had three to four months period to mature and advised farmers in the state to work hard to plant it twice in a year to increase their income.
The university lecturer said that producing rice twice a year would guarantee rice sufficiency and food security in the country. (NAN)