“It is to this end that the Ministry of Agriculture has embarked on sensitising rice farmers to train and disseminate the current production practices and empowerment geared toward sustainable supply of paddy,” Olusanya said. “Because the government has limited agricultural cultivable land area and with the increasing rate of small and large scale rice mills across the nation, there is a strain on the state getting constant supply of paddy to feed the mill when it becomes fully operational. She noted that the training would also expose the farmers to efficient harvesting methods by using the most up-to-date agricultural practices to ensure maximum output, improved yield and derive maximum return on investment. The acting commissioner explained that the capacity building and training was expected to give participants the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in modern and improved rice farming techniques. “It is expected that if these techniques are adopted by the farmers in the next planting season, it will result in an increase in paddy production to an expected average yield of four tonnes per harvest,” she said. Olusanya said that the state government’s intervention was also informed by the need to boost rice farming. She said that the training was necessary to bridge the rice demand deficit of the state and the Federal Government’s current ban on importation of rice.Īccording to her, the training is to expose farmers to current production practices in the rice value chain. Olusanya said that the empowerment was also geared toward ensuring sustainable supply of paddy by the farmers, bearing in mind the imminent completion of the state-owned Imota Rice Mill project. The State Acting Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, presented the tools to the farmers at the opening ceremony of a three-day sensitisation, capacity building and empowerment programme on Tuesday in Araga, Epe. The Lagos State Government ( LASG) has empowered no fewer than 800 rice farmers in the state with preferred high yielding Farrow 44 seeds, new high quality knapsack sprayers, rain boots and farm coats.

Tinkers knapsack