Kwara reiterates readiness to become Nigeria’s food hub

On Wednesday, the Kwara government reiterated its readiness to make the state Nigeria’s food hub.

Oloruntoyosi Thomas, the commissioner for agriculture and rural development, said this when she hosted a China-Africa Economic and Trade Council delegation and representative of the organised private sector in Ilorin.

The commissioner said the investors’ visit resulted from the Kwara government’s investment drive in the agricultural sector.

According to her, the Kwara government sent a delegation to China with some other Nigerians on reforms and tax policies.

“The visit was to learn about various reforms the People’s Republic of China had undergone, which have gotten them to where they are today,’’ she said.

Ms Thomas said Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq had directed the Ministry to share all the sector’s challenges with the Chinese investors and bring them in with other relevant bodies.

She noted that the collaboration would go a long way toward addressing the identified issues and achieving sustainable development in the agricultural sector.

“The challenges included inputs, production, processing, market linkage, as well as the entire value chain operations. On this note, the delegation decided to visit rice farmers at Shonga, Valentine Chicken, rice farmers at Lafiagi, Edu local government area of the state.

“The delegation also visited the Industrial Park under construction, fertiliser blending plant and the Rice Mill factory,’’ she said.

(NAN)