The Ogun State government has expressed readiness to establish a 20,000 hectares rice farm in the Yewa axis of Ogun State.
The move is aimed at making the Gateway State, the rice capital of the country.
The state Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, stated this on Wednesday during the commissioning of the 7-kilometre Ibooro-Imasai- Ayetoro road in Yewa North Local Government Area of the state.
The governor described Yewaland as the food basket of the state, noting that 20,000 hectares of land was needed for the rice project.
He said: “Yewaland is no doubt the food basket of this state and even the country. We are looking for 20,000 hectares of land to cultivate rice here. We will not put our money but there are investors who are ready to invest. All they need is land and I want to call on our Kabiyesis to come together and within two or three weeks, give land for this project.
“I have called the Head of Service, I have spoken to the Olu of Ilaro that he should challenge all our traditional rulers in this area. We are looking for about 20,000 hectares of land.
“We want to turn this part of Yewa into the Rice capital of Nigeria. We already have the investors that have the resources to turn this place into the rice development and rice processing centre in Nigeria and I am deeply committed to that as that will be one of the legacies of this administration.
“Help us to look for this land between two and three weeks, you will now see what we will do.
“We are not putting a dime into it; we will only be providing an enabling environment for the investors to come and turn this place into the Rice capital of Nigeria.”
Prince Abiodun appealed to the people to continue supporting the Federal Government’s efforts at repositioning the economy of the nation, emphasizing that though the subsidy removal has affected the people negatively, the government at the centre was making efforts to lessen the impact through palliatives.
While urging the people to take ownership of the newly reconstructed road, the state’s helmsman also appealed to traditional rulers to ensure peace in their respective domains to engender more socio-economic development.
