Lagos rice mill projects 2.4 million bags annually

The Lagos State Government on Wednesday said the integrated rice mill in Imota, in the Ikorodu Local Government Area, will on completion produce 2.4 million bags of polished rice annually.

Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, said this on Wednesday at an Ofada Day Rice Symposium to commemorate the 2021 World Food Day in Lagos.

Olusanya, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Hakeem Adeniji, said the state was making efforts to produce Ofada rice to international standard.

She said, “The Lagos State government’s 32 metric tonnes per hour capacity integrated rice mill at Imota, in Ikorodu Local Government Area – the biggest in Nigeria and in West Africa – is nearing completion and at full capacity will produce 2,400,000 bags of 50 kilogramme polished parboiled rice from about 200,000 metric tonnes of paddy rice annually. It is expected that no fewer than 250,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created along the rice value chain.”

Olusanya added that the state had upgraded the processing and packaging of Ofada rice to put it on the global map.

 “The locally processed Ofada rice has a pungent smell as a result of fermentation during parboiling (soaking). The acceptability of this brand has been hindered by its method of processing and packaging. There is also the issue of impurities such as the presence of stones in the rice. Most people have erroneously attributed the smell as a genuine property of Ofada rice but this does not meet international standard.

“To correct these errors and to put Ofada rice on the global map, the Rice for Job programme of the Lagos State Government in 2008 commenced the promotion of hot water soaking of Ofada rice during parboiling. The dried paddy was then taken into a destoner to eliminate stones and other impurities during milling,” she said.