The newly built WACOT Rice Mill in Argungu, Kebbi State, will create 3,500 jobs and produce 120,000 metric tonnes of top-quality rice annually. The rice mill is part of WACOT’s expansion plan, which targets an increase in its rice milling capacity to 500,000 metric tonnes in coming years.
This was revealed by Mr Rahul Savara, Group Managing Director of the TGI Group, the parent company of WACOT Rice, during the pre-commissioning visit to the plant by the Governor of Kebbi State, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.
The rice processing plant will be the first rice mill to be conceptualised, executed and commissioned during the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Work started on the mill in February 2016 and is scheduled to be formally inaugurated in April 2017.
WACOT, one of the largest agribusiness operations in Nigeria, supports Nigeria’s objective of food self-sufficiency with significant investments in seed multiplication, out-grower farming, food processing and distribution.
In his remarks, Mr Savara, WACOT Group Managing Director disclosed that “total investments in the WACOT Rice Mill exceed N10billion, covering the entire rice value chain from seed multiplication and improving farming practices, to processing, branding and distribution of the rice.”
Mr. Savara also informed his august visitors that the WACOT Mill is the first rice plant in Nigeria with captive power co-generation facility, as it will generate 1 MW of electricity from rice husk. “This is in a bid to ensure that all by-products and waste products are fully consumed and the environment is protected. It is also fully equipped with a plant for treating water, which can then be used for irrigation.”
WACOT CEO, Mr Ujwalkanta Senapati, added that the company “views farmers as partners with whom we work hand-in-hand to improve agricultural production in the state.”
Governor Atiku Bagudu reiterated the commitment of his administration to increased food production in Kebbi State. He commended WACOT Limited for locating the rice plant in Kebbi, a state which he said is endowed with vast arable land suitable for rice, wheat, maize, sorghum and groundnut production.
The Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, stated that the federal government will continue to encourage and support organisations such as WACOT, in its efforts to enhance and stabilise food production in the country.
While applauding the focus of the Kebbi State government on agriculture, the minister said it is anticipated that more state governments will embrace this laudable path, in order to promote food sufficiency and economic development in the country.
He said “a time is coming when the most important person in Kebbi State will not be a politician but a farmer.”
On his part, the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, lauded WACOT Limited for the feat, adding that the mill will save the country substantial amount of foreign exchange that would have gone into rice importation. He also assured the farmers that government will continue to do everything to ensure that their products are sold.