Abdul Oroh, the Edo State Commissioner for Agriculture, in this interview with Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia is very optimistic that the recent $1billion investment for rice production by the Dangote Group will not only create jobs but boost the economy of the state across all frontiers. Excerpts:
Edo state recently signed an MOU with Dangote Group on production of rice, how far is the project?
Well, the project is on already. As we talk now we are surveying the land in Ekperi area of Etsako Central. The surveying is ongoing, we are also doing crops enumeration to compensate the farmers who were already on the land and after that the state government will formally acquire the land and lease it to them for the project. So the process is on, they have done their due diligence. When we signed the MOU at the Federal Government level, six states were supposed to be affected. Edo state will provide 50 hectares of land but the other states will provide about one hundred thousand hectares. So we are already in the forefront of this and we are happy to have Dangote Group investing in Edo state.
What does the people of Edo state stand to gain from the establishment of this gigantic project?
We expect that annually we will be producing as much as 450, 000 tons of rice and compared to what we import as a nation, it will drastically reduce our dependence on foreign rice. Like Dangote said during the ceremony, this rice thing will be bigger than cement.
He said I have done my own work, the land is good, we have abundant water resources and the policy of Edo state government is exciting. So, what we are trying to do in Edo state is bigger than the cement project. What he was talking about the cement project is that the cement project started with about less than 1.8 million tons of cement per annum. Now they are hitting about 37 million tons from 1.8m tons. He said that rice is even bigger if we can do two cropping seasons if not three in a year and the market is huge, even if we are not exporting it, the Nigerian market is huge and there is no day people will not eat and rice is the staple food of humanity. Rice is the main food of all countries of the world. So there is no reason why the business will not be huge. And looking at this, it will be of enormous and tremendous benefit to the people of Edo state. More than 4, 000 people will be employed in the next one or two years. There will be a lot of other benefits in terms of contractors working with them for land preparation, supplying of this and that. We have growers scheme that will affect thousands of youths in the area who are willing to farm, land will be apportioned to them; they will be assisted with seeds and fertilisers and other things to produce rice and sold to the Dangote Group as an off-taker. Purely, the economic benefits are enormous. All those youths who will be employed will form part of the new tax net of the state. If they pay N1, 000 per annum as taxes, you know what that amounts to. And they are going to produce the paddy rice, which will be processed in Edo state.
In fact, the land will be set aside for them, they are already designing it; they will cut it into blocks and fields where they will be able to take off and spray crops and maybe for other uses. So clearly, it is going to open up that part of the rural part of Edo state where the economic activities in that area and we hope that would even spur other investors to stimulate other investments to come to Edo state once they see the operation.
What is the security consideration and major stake of the host communities in the area of security because Edo state is strategic in the South-South region and the huge investment is one that should attract attention?
Edo state is the most secured part of the South-South. We already have huge agro businesses in Edo state that are doing very well in the stock market; they are doing very well in terms of their annual produce. They make huge profits every year and they are at peace with their host communities. You can talk of Presco Oil, Okomo Oil Palm, Rubber Estate of Nigeria and other new agro businesses that are also setting up in various parts of Edo state. The Dangote Group even though they have not had a factory here but their warehouse is here. They already have foot on ground in Edo state where they sell cement and other produce. It is a big conglomerate. So, they are not new to Edo state and the state is secured and we all know. It is the most secured part of the South-South.
Will this latest move serve as an avenue to revive the Agbede and Anegbete rice production areas of the state?
You know that area has the same ecological zone up to Ilushi. They all fall within the River Niger and Ovia River plain where the soil is rich in terms of water resources with all kinds of water flowing across. So you can actually farm all year round. With the take off of this new investment, others will now want to either reactivate the old investment or new investors will come in to seek partnership with other investors. We believe that in no distant time, both the Agbede-Warake farm and the Anegbete farm and all other initiatives that we have before, will take off and they will be influenced and affected.
Our oil export is dwindling and our population is growing, how do we sustain food import?
It is oil money that we use to import food. So if we can produce enough to meet our table needs, our industrial needs from those that can be processed to industrial products, for instance cassava can be used for ethanol, chips, feeds, flour to bake bread and all that, all kinds of pastries, sweetners for bottling companies and confectionaries and even for pharmaceuticals for tablets or capsules. So if we can process and transform the value chain and become a major agro-based economy then we will say Nigeria has take off. Countries like Brazil, from soya beans, rice and all others they are now self-sufficient. United States is self-sufficient in food production. Most western civilised countries are. Enter some of the super markets in Nigeria, they sell imported potato chips, shrimps, fish imported from other countries. Is that not a shame? So Nigeria has to fight the shame of dependence on food importation.
Some time ago the Dangote Group wanted to set up a fertilizer company. What is delaying the exercise?
You know in elementary economics, to set up a factory you talk about land, labour and capital, nearness to raw material, infrastructure and entrepreneurial ability. All these are conditions for business entity to take off. They said they discovered that they could not transport their materials through the River Niger even though they said River Niger had been dredged. We are not worried about that. It was absolutely his prerogative to take his business decisions. Now, he said he is ready to do rice here. We are happy to welcome him to do rice here. We cannot have any delay again. We have access to the River Niger, rail line which goes to Ajaokuta and could be used for other purposes; there is drainage and electrical grid. So everything that you can think of that will make this project take off as quickly as possible is already there.
