Following
Dangote’s $1billion investment in rice production in Nigeria, another company
has pledged to invest about N2.2 billion in cultivating about 25,000 hectares
of land at Akotogbo in Ondo state with a promise to create 2500 jobs.
Speaking
on the project, the Chairman of Wems Agro Companies, Rotimi Wemi-Akinsola, said
Nigeria has a vast arable land and lots of water to plant rice.
But,
he regretted that the country does not produce up to 15% of the 22.5 million
bags of rice consumed in the country monthly.
“Rice
growing and consumption historically has been based in south East Asia, where
most of the world’s rice is still grown.
The
fast growing market is sub – Saharan Africa (SSA) where rice production falls
far below consumption and where the FAO forecasts that rice will be the largest
staple food by 2030.”
He
added “Nigeria’s per capital consumption is estimated to be
