By Suleiman Abubakar Rimi Uku Lafia
Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State says the state is set to realise an estimated 1.2 million bags of rice from the ongoing harvest at the expansive 3,300-hectare Jangwa Rice Farm in Awe Local Government Area.
The governor disclosed this on Thursday during an inspection visit to the farm, where large-scale harvesting operations are currently underway.
According to him, about 600,000 bags of rice have already been harvested in the last two weeks, representing approximately 50 percent of the projected output.
“We are very happy with the harvest so far. We started harvesting a little over two weeks ago and still have about two more weeks to go. So far, we have close to 600,000 bags harvested, which is about 50 percent of what we expect. The section we are currently on represents roughly half of the entire area,” Governor Sule stated.
He further noted that the harvested paddy would be conveyed to milling centres in Abuja and Lokoja, Kogi State, after which the state-branded NASACO Rice would be officially launched in Abuja.
Governor Sule added that upon completion of the current harvest, the state government will commence the clearing of additional hectares to scale up production and expand capacity at the Jangwa farm.
It will be recalled that the governor recently flagged off harvesting activities at the 3,300-hectare Jangwa farm in Awe and another rice farm in Agwatashi, Obi Local Government Area, in continuation of efforts to strengthen the agricultural value chain and boost food production in Nasarawa State.
