Kwara State Government says the proposed ban on rice importation by the federal government by year 2015 will encourage the growth of local rice farmers and millers in the country.
         
The State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, who stated this Thursday at the commissioning of Quarra Rice Mill at Tsaragi in Edu Local Government Area of the state, said the proposed policy can only work through a holistic approach that include tax incentives and effective policing of the nation's borders.
 
According to him, structured and carefully planned agro-reforms are keys to achieving the desired result in the agricultural sector of the nation's economy.
 
The Governor emphasized that in line with the World Bank thinking, planned agriculture has the largest potentials to trigger rapid growth, reduce poverty and guarantee food security.
 
"The agricultural value chain management is pivotal to the reforms envisaged under the Kwara Agricultural Modernisation Masterplan design in partnership with Cornell University New York," Ahmed said.
 
"We are implementing the scheme through a model of ten out-grower farmers per local government who are attached to an off-taker and thus guarantee a ready market for their produce through the buy-back mechanism of the off-taker scheme," the governor noted.
 
He said his administration is establishing three Agriculture Malls that are conceived as one stop shops for farm input, equipment, banking facilities and extension services where farmers can access the services in a seamless fashion.
 
In his remarks, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina commended Governor Ahmed's revolution in agriculture which he said should be replicated by other states to ensure food security.
 
Dr Adesina, who was represented by the Director General of the National Council on Agricultural Mechanisation, Engineer Ike Azogu, said the federal government has mapped out policies that are designed to achieve agricultural value chain targeting at ensuring adequate production of food from the farm to the table.
 
He expressed satisfaction with the laudable initiatives of the past governor of the State, Senator Bukola Saraki and the present Governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed for the impetus given to the agricultural sector of the State economy.
 
The proprietor and Chairman of Quarra Rice Mill Limited, Dr Chris Okeke said the industry has the capacity to produce rice in good standard such as it was being done in Brazil and other favour rice producing nations of the world.