Ondo rice farmers to participate in dry season farming, targets 1m tons

By Kehinde Oluwatuyi
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No fewer than 15,000 rice farmers in Ondo state will participate in Central Bank of Nigeria CBN’s Anchor Borrowers 2019/2020 dry season rice farming.

Chairman of Sunshine Rice Farmers Association, Prince George Oladapo who made the disclosure in an interview with The Hope yesterday said that his association targets 1million tonnes of rice in the project.

It would be recalled that the President of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Aminu Goronyo said that the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele gave the association the go ahead to mobilize 1 million farmers in the country for 2019/2020 dry season farming under its Anchor Borrowers Programme.

Oladapo stressed that rice farmers in the state have been mobilized and that land preparation is ongoing, noting that planting would take off as soon as CBN gives the enabling environment.

According to him, “all rice farmers in the state  are   properly engaged including those who are not under the umbrella of his association to boost rice production in Ondo state.

While noting that the step will result in increase in production of the commodity, Oladapo assured that it will also translate to price  reduction.

He added that the target of the association is that one bag of 50 kg of rice will come down to six thousand naira or seven thousand naira by next one or two years, saying that it is a gradual process.

He enjoined more people to embrace agriculture and participate actively in rice production in particular, adding that it is profitable, will create wealth, provide jobs for the teeming youth and boost the internally generated revenue of the state.