The Lagos State Government has said its commercial sale of Eko Rice from Imota Rice Mill will begin by the end of April.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture and Rice
Mill Initiative, Dr Oluwarotimi Fashola, stated this during the signing of an
agreement with the Lagos Commodities and Future Exchange.
A statement by the Director, Public Affairs Ministry of
Agriculture, Nike Sodipo, said the signing ceremony, held at Alausa, makes Lagos State the first
sub-national to move from infrastructure finance through the capital market to
commodities finance, with the objective of becoming the major hub for
commodities trading for agricultural products in Africa.
The statement quoted as describing the Eko Rice as the best
in Nigeria today, adding that the Imota rice mill had come to challenge the
status quo with regard to the quality of rice, hence the need to ensure seamless
flow of raw materials to make the mill function optimally.
“If we do not have rice paddy which is our major raw
material, then the entire equipment and infrastructure that we have in Imota
will be useless. This partnership, therefore, is about how to sustain the
continuous flow of paddy into Imota.
“Imota mill will be requiring over 200,000 tonnes of paddy
annually. It is not cheap. In Nigeria as of today, that is going into almost
N100bn, and N100bn of taxpayers’ money being taken from the government will not
be the easiest to do in any financial year but with the partnership with
Commodities Exchange, we can maintain the flow of paddy to the mill,” the
statement read in part.
the mill continues to run, we have a comparative advantage
of having a good price and at the same time, the finished rice becomes
available in the market.
“The Eko rice is already in the system and the good thing is
that this partnership will create direct access to it for everyone and also
ensure sustainability. The rice was used by Mr Governor for palliative and by
the end of this month, the commercial sale of Eko Rice will hit the market.
What we are doing is laying a foundation that subsequent administrations can
work on and leverage. So, this partnership is a win-win for everybody,” Fashola
said.
Earlier, the Managing Director of Lagos Commodities and
Future Exchange, Mr Akinsola Akeredolu-Ale, commended Governor Sanwo-Olu for
not only seeing the need to bridge the rice needs of the nation but
understanding the critical role of the capital market.
“At the Commodities Exchange, we understand the need to
deepen the capital market and the commodities ecosystem concurrently. The
capital market plays a critical role in providing sustainable finance to the
ecosystem through the generation of tradeable financial instruments.”
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