From Judex Okoro, Calabar
The national president of National Rice Producers, Processors, Millers and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NARPPMMAN), Alhaji Mustafa Ahmadu, has advocated kinetic impact on the link among value chain players.
Speaking shortly after the inauguration of the South East and South South zonal executives of the association in Calabar, Cross River State, at the weekend, Ahmadu, who is Sarkin Noman Adamawa, said there were plans to coordinate and streamline the activities of all value chain players.
He said: “There must be a kinetic impact on the link between the value chain players from producers to aggregators, millers and marketers.
“This will create specialty among the actors, make the operational structure seamless and create access to sustainable funding, structured market, fair pricing and guaranteed offtake.”
He said NARPPMMAN has a lot to offer and charged the incoming executives to join hands and build the association for the benefit of all and the national economy.
Also speaking, National Vice President, South South, Augustine Ijeh, said agriculture has been left in the hands of peasant farmers for too long and the country has not made much progress for over four decades.
NARPPMMAN, he said, is borne out of the need to coordinate the activities of rice value chain players so as to guarantee an unbroken chain in rice production.
Describing the inauguration as a right step in the right direction, the chairman of Ebonyi State chapter of NARPPMMAN, Chief Ebere Orji, said their first mission is to unite all the rice farm value chain and to help bring the youths into farming to reduce insecurity and poverty.
Orji said with more people into the rice chain, export would be increased and that nation would be better for it.
He commended the ministry of commerce and industry for bringing all the rice associations together under one umbrella for the common interest of rice production, distribution, marketing and consumption.
On his part, the representative of NIRSAL, Progress Udugeli, said they would work to facilitate finance to the sector to ensure a win-win situation.
The inauguration was attended by all the 11 state executives from the two regions.