The much expected Dangote Rice is billed to hit the market very soon as the management has commenced the harvest of its first tranche.
Sources within the organisation said Aliko Dangote has been very happy with the news of the harvest, especially as it will be launched in the right time to ease the pains of Nigerians, who currently buy rice at N20, 000 per bag.
“We are really excited about the progress so far recorded in this our rice projects. Once we commence the sales of our rice, I can authoritatively tell you that the price of rice will crash in the country as we should have enough, in the next few years to make importation of rice non-attractive again into the country” the source said.
Earlier in the year, Dangote inaugurated its 8,000-hectare Rice Out-growers’ Scheme in Hadejia, Jigawa State, with the distribution of rice seedlings to farmers.
According to a statement by the group, the scheme, which is part of its partnership with government at all levels to reduce Nigeria’s food imports, has the potential to provide 10,000 direct and indirect jobs.
It said the rice project being executed by the Dangote Rice Limited would be replicated in six other states of the federation.
It said the project was the fallout of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Dangote and the Federal Government, on the one hand, and the Jigawa State Government on the other.
Dangote lamented that the Nigerian agricultural commodities and food imports’ bill had averaged over N1tn in the past two years, with items such as sugar, wheat, rice and fish accounting for 93 per cent of the amount.
