Indigenous firm secures 5,000 hectares of land for rice production in Adamawa

Rice production in Nigeria is set to receive a boost as an indigenous agribusiness firm, Haske and Williams, has acquired 5,000 hectares of land in Demsa, Adamawa State, to commence development of an integrated rice production project.

The president/founder of the agribusiness firm, Abdullahi Bashir Haske, described the execution of the development lease agreement as a critical milestone for the development of the company’s 5,000 hectare irrigated and mechanised paddy cultivation estate.

This, he said, is the first of its kind in private sector led initiative in the North East.

Speaking with newsmen in Abuja on the signing of the development lease agreement for the paddy cultivation component of the project, Haske disclosed that the agreement was between the Batta Traditional Council of Demsa and Manomi Support Services Limited, a subsidiary of Haske and Williams Limited.

He said the current economic realities in Nigeria occasioned by fall in crude oil prices in the international market, afforded the country an opportunity to turn around its fortunes and usher in an agro-industrial revolution.

His words: “It is no more news that the Nigerian economy is in dire straits due significantly to our inability as a people to take the initiative and migrate from a mono economy to a diversified one that promises opportunities for all Nigerians irrespective of their ethno-cultural background.

“Today, agriculture affords Nigeria an opportunity to turn around its fortunes and usher an agro-industrial revolution driven by Nigerian businesses like Haske and Williams and communities like Demsa.

“The Demsa Integrated Rice Production project is a testimony to what we can achieve as a people when we come together for a common good. With immense support from the good people of Demsa and Adamawa state as a whole, we are taking the first steps towards the establishment of Adamawa state as a centre of excellence for commercial agriculture in Nigeria.”

He expressed confidence that in a few weeks, the groundbreaking ceremony of the Rice Processing Complex and flag off of the Manomi Support Scheme Initiative would commence.