Kwakuti Women Processors, an association of women rice producers, in Paikoro council of Niger State, have received a N40 million processing centre to improve the quality of their grains.
The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) and International Fund for Agricultural Development-Value Chain Development Programme (IFAD VCDP) teamed up to complete and equip the centre.
The state IFAD VCDP Programme Coordinator, Dr Matthew Ahmed said the centre would add value to the quality of rice produced in Kwakuti, adding that in the past, the women processed the grain manually, which wasted time and resources.
Ahmed said the centre would now produce more rice in less time.
Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Ibrahim Muhammad Panti, said the milling facility will go a long way in enhancing rural socio-economic development.
“It is in this regard that the state is supporting the intervention of the IFAD/VCDP Programme to improve the productivity of the rice value chain. The project, having rice as one of its mandate crops has performed tremendously well in improving the yield and also the quality rice in the state,” he said.
“Before this intervention, the Kwakuti women processors had no modern milling equipment to mill quality rice to international standard. But under this intervention, the project has provided enabling and neat environment for processing rice by building the processing centre, parboiling shed and drying slab. The women groups were also trained on false bottom technology to improve the quality rice.”
The Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Professor Hussaini Doko Ibrahim said the Council is partnering with various processors of commodities to put up facilities for the processors across the board in Nigeria to reduce their operational costs.