Buhari lauds Ayade’s contributions to Nigeria’s rice revolution

President Muhammad Buhari has commended Governor Ben Ayade for contributing significantly to Nigeria’s rice revolution and value chain.

The Cross River state governor received the presidential honour at the unveiling of the Abuja Rice Pyramids by the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN).

The event was put together to celebrate President Buhari’s annual rice festival and to flag off the 2022 dry season programme.

The President also bestowed on Governor Ayade excellence award for the feat, saying with such efforts, the country was gradually taking its rightful place in Africa’s food sufficiency index.

Responding, the governor thanked Buhari for the honour, saying his passion for agriculture has the imprimatur of the president.

“Mr President I want to thank you for making me a farmer. Mr President I want to thank you for turning my wife, a medical doctor into a full-time farmer. I thank you for creating a great future for this country through your policy trust in agriculture. I thank you for being focused on agriculture; I want to thank you sincerely.

“Cross River State has, based on your policy thrust, taken advantage of your robust agricultural road map to provide an alternative to oil as the mainstay of our economy, to focus on the agro-Industrialization revolution which is the basis of any nation that is prepared to industrialize.

“On the strength of that, Cross River State set up the first and the only vitaminized rice mill in Africa,” he stated.