Dangote to create 10,000 jobs with rice outgrowers’ scheme

In line with the Federal Government move to diversify the economy away from oil through agriculture and ensure food sufficiency, Aliko Dangote, president, Dangote Group, launched 8000 hectares of rice outgrowers’   scheme in Jigawa State last week.

The joint partnership of Dangote group with the federals government is expected to reduce the country’s food imports and create about 10,000 jobs for the rural community.

The scheme is expected to be replicated in six other states of the federation.

“Before the discovery of oil, our economic was built around potentials from our palm oil, groundnut, cotton, and rubber plantations. Now the price of oil has plummeted from a peak of $116 per barrel in June 2014 to as low as $29 per barrel in January 2016, this means there is huge loss of revenue to the government,” Dangote said. 

While justifying his decision to delve into agriculture, Dangote said Nigerian agricultural commodities and food imports bills has averaged over N1trillion in the past two years (2013 and 2014), with foods like sugar, wheat, rice, fish accounting for 93 percent of the total cost of imports, a situation he described as unacceptable for anyone who loves the country.

He stated that the huge amounts were being expended on food items that the country has potential to produce locally with attendant losses of employment generation and wealth creation opportunities. “Yet the allocation of foreign exchange to import these items depleted the foreign reserves continually.”

Dangote stated that the Dangote Rice Outgrowers Scheme has been designed as a one-stop solution for the rice value chain. “Farmers will be provided with training, necessary inputs with guaranteed buy back agreed price, will improve yield, production and income for the farmers”

Excited at the Dangote initiative, Heneiken Lokpobiri, minister of state for Agriculture, commended Dangote for his intervention in the government efforts at providing food security for the citizenry, creating jobs and reducing dependency on food importation

He expressed government readiness to provide all the needed support to make the Dangote Rice Outgrowers’ scheme a success.

Badaru Muhammed Abubakar, Jigawa State governor, thanked the Dangote Group for choosing Jigawa as the pilot state for the project. He pledged the readiness of his administration to provide all necessary support to the project.

The governor said he had no doubt in him that Dangote rice will succeed in turning around the economy of his statejust like the company’s exploits in other industries like cement, sugar and lately the oil and gas.

Josephine Okojie