Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State has announced the establishment ofa multi billion naira French Rice/Potatoes processing plant in Manchok, Kaura area of the state. On completion, the plant would offer 30,000 direct jobs to the teaming unemployed youths in the state.
Addressing a news conference in Kaduna heralding the ground breaking of the plant scheduled for this week, commissioner for Agriculture and Forestry, Dr. Manzo Maigari, said 5,000 hectres of land in each local government would be allocated to community on the best ways of planting potatoes.
According to Daily Post, he explained that as one of the steps to empower farmers in the state, VICAMPRO, owner of the processing plant would buy the potatoes from the farmers for its massive production as 60 per cent of the products would be exported. Maigari added that governor El-Rufai’s economic diversification processing drive would extend to other crops to revive the current economic challenges facing the country and the state.
The commissioner said, “Since the coming of this government, we came with a goal and determination in farming. What we did is to organize farmers into cooperatives, commodity interest groups and the rest. “We look at things critically and we decided that everything we are going to do in agriculture, we have to have some value added which will be private sector driven, so we are lucky to have VICAMPRO with an investment worth 120 million dollars coming into Kaduna state to process French rice and potatoes.
“What are the gains for us, with this investment we are looking at 30,000 direct jobs, we are also working closely with them to see how we can develop out growers network across all the local government areas that have suitable soil to grow potatoes. “Another benefit is that it will help us to standardize our farm practice in the state.”
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