Lagos to produce ‘Lake Rice’

Lagos State Government said yesterday it was putting finishing touches to the production of ‘Lake Rice,’ which would be available in the market in six months.
Special Adviser to Governor Akinwumi Ambode on Food Security, Mr. Sanni Okanlawon, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), yesterday, that the rice paddy would be milled at Imota, Lagos.
He said the state government is collaborating with its Kebbi counterpart in ensuring that quality rice emanated from the 2.5 metric tonne-capacity mills to boost food production in Lagos.
“To boost food production in the state, we collaborated with the Kebbi government in commodity value chain production like rice, wheat, groundnut, sorghum and livestock.
“We have started with rice; Kebbi is the largest producer of rice paddy and we have the capacity to mill them at our 2.5 metric tonne-capacity milling plant in Imota.
“In the next six months, we will have Lagos-Kebbi rice in the market, which we have branded ‘Lake Rice,’’ Okanlawon said.
The special adviser also added that the rice would have been available in the market by now, but was delayed over some technical problems the milling plant had.
According to him, the challenge is being attended to and “the plant would be up and running soon.”
Okanlawon said the government would soon add 20 metric tonnes per hour to the 2.5 metric tonnes Imota rice milling plant.
He said with the machinery put in place, the state would soon become a net exporter of rice in sub-Saharan Africa.