By Kabiru Dogon Daji Birnin Kebbi
Kebbi state government has pledged to partner with West African countries in cultivation of rice with a view to putting a stop to importation of the commodity. Th e Commissioner of Agriculture, Alhaji Garba Muhammed Dandiga, made this known in Birnin Kebbi when he received a delegation of West African Rice Farmers Association (RIFAN) who paid him a courtesy visit recently.
He noted that Kebbi, being a front line rice-producing state and which shared borders with three francophone countries, would provide a synergy aimed at boosting rice production in the West African sub-region. Dandiga stated that with full commitment, the importation of rice from around the globe into the region would defi nitely be a thing of the past, while the region would strive for exportation of the commodity to other nations in the near future. He told the visiting rice farmers that they should “feel free to come to the state any time to copy a leaf on the technicalities as well exploit the knowledge on rice production.”
“Our youths have been fully engaged in both Fadama and upland farming; so the eff ect of unemployment amongst youth has drastically reduced to the barest proportion,” he said, adding that the state government had focused its attention on mass food production. Speaking earlier, the President of the West African Rice Farmers Association, Mr. Gbonnon Pascal, said they were in the state to interact with government, rice farmers and other stakeholders on rice farming since the state “is known for leading in this direction.” Pascal said the visit had availed them of the opportunity to accumulate knowledge on modernised rice farming after their visit to many farms. However, the delegation was derived from Niger, Benin, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Mali Republics.
