Cross River sees N10bn investment in rice production

Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade says the state is expecting, at least, N10 billion investment in its plan to boost rice production and will work with foreign partners for the success of the project.

Ayade, fielding questions from journalists after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House Abuja, said the state had engaged a Swiss-based company that would construct modern rice mills to ensure high input and throughput rate.

“This is part of what I discussed with the President. Since we have special commercial credit facility that is provided for, which as a state we have requested for N4.8 billion. If we have that, it will support us. But basically in terms of the investment outlay, the investment outlay is over N10 billion and there is also a foreign element, which is a function of what the foreign partners are bringing.

“We are also in contact with a company in Switzerland that is building the Rolls Royce category of what a modern rice mill will look like with a very high input and throughput rate with a very high return,” he said.

The governor explained that the state decided to go for the high-end technology to avoid losses during production, explaining that with some of the old rice mills, 45 percent losses were recorded from an input of 80 percent paddy.

He told journalists that as part of the economic reforms of the state, the Bakassi Deep Sea Port would kick off in a short while, saying the preliminary works had been completed and equipment been moved to the site, as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was still being concluded.

“The project is real and that is part of what I discussed with Mr. President and the President has given his commitment that he will support the deep sea port and the evacuation corridor which is the 260km super highway. The President did give an advice and warning that as far as that he had come to give support to this programme, I must come to give him a quarterly progress report on this project, and that is one of the reasons I am here,” he said.