Dangote Urges Prioritisation Of Food Security In Africa

The president/chief enforcement of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has called for the prioritisation of nutrient information and self-sufficiency crossed Africa, stressing the continent’s immense cultivation potential.

Speaking implicit the play during a courtesy sojourn by the AfricaRice Centre—a pan-African Centre of Excellence for atom research, development, and capableness building—at his Lagos office, Dangote highlighted agriculture arsenic a cardinal pillar for sustainable improvement connected the continent.

“Africa is richly endowed with arable land. With the close policies, capable investment, and the adoption of modern technology, farmers tin importantly summation their yields and instrumentality connected investment,” helium said.

He noted that strengthening agriculture could assistance tackle galore of the continent’s socio-economic challenges, fixed its large root of employment and income.

“With effectual argumentation frameworks and technological advancement, Africa tin execute nutrient information and self-sufficiency. Investing successful agriculture volition besides unlock maturation crossed assorted sectors of the economy,” Dangote added.

Dangote Rice Limited, a subsidiary of Dangote Industries, precocious signed a landmark N1.8 trillion acquisition and merchantability statement with Niger Foods Security Systems and Logistics Company Limited, owned by the Niger State Government. The statement volition guarantee a dependable proviso of high-quality paddy atom to Dangote Rice to enactment Nigeria’s broader nutrient information agenda.

Dangote Rice has made important investments successful atom mills and plantations crossed Nigeria. Through its outgrower scheme, the institution aims to make employment opportunities portion promoting nutrient self-sufficiency nationwide.

The manager wide of AfricaRice, Dr Baboucarr Manneh, commended Dangote’s renewed absorption connected cultivation investments, describing it arsenic a captious measurement towards achieving nutrient information connected the continent.

He besides lauded the precocious formalised concern with Niger State, noting its imaginable to alteration determination nutrient systems.

“Niger State has acceptable an ambitious people of producing 5 cardinal tonnes of atom implicit the adjacent 5 years. To enactment this into perspective, Africa presently imports astir 15 cardinal tonnes of atom annually,” said Dr Manneh. “If realised, this people volition person a important interaction connected atom self-sufficiency and nutrient information successful Africa.”

He emphasised the value of leveraging public-private partnerships to fortify the cultivation ecosystem, combining authorities enactment with backstage assemblage expertise and investment.

“This concern tin service arsenic a blueprint for different states and countries crossed the continent. With beardown enactment from cultivation subject and research, it tin dramatically boost productivity and trim Africa’s reliance connected nutrient imports,” helium added.

Dr Manneh besides called for amended absorption of imports to enactment section farmers and fortify home economies.

Also speaking during the visit, enforcement president of Niger Foods, Sammy Adigun, reaffirmed the state’s committedness to transforming atom production. He revealed that AfricaRice is acceptable to enactment Niger State successful expanding yearly atom paddy accumulation from the existent 1.5 cardinal tonnes to 10 cardinal tonnes, done the deployment of climate-smart technologies, mechanisation, innovation, and the integration of some large-scale and smallholder farms.