Ekiti State can make N6 billion annually from the production of rice while N360 billion accrues to Nigeria every year.
Ekiti State is one of the leading 13 rice producing states in the country, and was leading in the first republic with the production of Igbemo rice.
Speaking with newsmen in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, the Public Relations Officer of Association of Rice Processors, Millers and Traders Union (ESARPROMT),
Mr Segun Filani, urged the state government to assist in the production of rice by giving about 5,000 rice growers an enabling environment. ’’The daily consumption rate is over N17million.
That translates to over N6 billion per year in the state.
Filani said.”The sector will definitely increase the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state, create large employment throughout the value chain right from production to distribution. ”It will further encourage urbanization of the rural areas due to industrialization and this will curb rural-urban migration”.
The image maker listed the health advantages of eating local rice to include production of fatty acids that make healthy forms of cholesterol because of its fiber richness and ability to keep healthy bowel function.
”Brown rice keeps things moving in a way that promotes weight-loss and metabolic function”, he added.
