Gov. Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi says the bumper harvest recorded this farming season will help stabilise the price of rice in Nigerian markets.
Bagudu, who is the Chairman Presidential Taskforce on Rice and Wheat Production in the country, made the statement on Monday in Argungu Local Government Area of the state in interaction with the farmers in the area.
“The bumper harvest the farmers have recorded this rainy season will bring down the price of locally produced rice to curtail smuggling of foreign rice into the country and make it affordable to the common man,” he said.
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Bagudu told the farmers that the state government would soon procure and distribute mini milling machines to them, to enhance the quality of rice they packaged for markets.
“Already youths have been trained on the operation of the machines who will impart such skill to the farm in the 21 local government areas of the state,” Bagudu said.
One of the farmers, Alhaji Abubakar Usman, told the governor that they had recorded bumper harvest this year and would sustain the tempo in coming seasons.
Usman, however, appealed to the state government to support them with fertilizer, pesticides and milling machines.