The Dangote Group has stated that it is investing $1bn on rice cultivation in five states to boost food self-sufficiency in the country.
This was made known by a director of the Dangote Group, Tunde Mabogunje, at the Gateway Fair, which held in Abeokuta, Ogun state.
President of the Ogun State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (OGUNCCIMA), Adesola Adebutu, said the support given by the group at the fair went a long way in making the staging of the fair a success.
Mabogunje, who represented the Group at the fair, said that the partnership with OGUNCCIMA was beneficial as Ogun state is the host of the 12 million metric tonnes per annum Dangote Cement plant, Ibese, the second largest cement plant in Nigeria.
“We are investing about $1bn in rice cultivation. We have an outgrowers scheme where thousands of farmers are empowered with improved seeds and items needed to cultivate rice.” he said.
Meanwhile, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Dangote Industries Limited have begun to collaborate towards ensuring maximum utilisation of local capacities and capabilities in the construction of the company’s 650,000 barrels per day petroleum refinery plant.
