The Federal Government has described attempts by
unscrupulous individuals on social media linking the
government and Dangote group with a plan to ‘flood’
the country with genetically modified rice (GMO) as
extremely uncharitable.
In a statement signed by Femi Adesina, FG said that
in real terms, the government in 2014 signed a
$1billion Memorandum of Understanding, (MoU) for
investment in integrated rice project with Dangote
Industries Ltd.
Further to this agreement, Dangote Industries Limited
this year cultivated over 8,000 hectares in Hadejia,
Jigawa state, creating over 10,000 direct and
indirect jobs for farmers who are the major
beneficiaries of the scheme. In consolidation of the
rice project of the Federal Government, President
Muhammadu Buhari administration is also in
partnership with the African Development Bank
(AfDB) and other reputable companies to tap into
the vast potentials in the private sector and
broadening the economic base of the country.
The gains of the diversification drive especially in the
Agriculture sector are already yielding dividends as
shown by the recent statistics in the sector as
published by the National Bureau of Statistics. These
engagements will continue until the present
administration has laid a solid foundation for the
economic development of the nation. It is therefore
ridiculous that a government that is wholly devoted to
the generation of employment for Nigerians especially
through Agriculture will turn around to get involved
in an activity that will reverse the gains of the same
partnership. President Buhari has said it repeatedly
that, ‘’we have the capacity to feed ourselves in
Nigeria and even export from what we produce in the
country.”
He has also said that through the provision of N200
billion by the CBN for small holder farmers and
processors involved in local production of rice and
other grains, rice importation will hopefully stop in
the next three years. It is unfortunate that while the
Buhari administration is working assiduously with
well-meaning Nigerians to bring the country out of
the current economic situation it has found itself, a
few self-serving individuals are bent on distracting
the administration from the avowed focus to reflate
the fortunes of the country through the diversification
of the economy which, very soon, Nigerians will begin
to see and experience the results. The Federal
Government warns purveyors of such malicious
information and those thinking of embarking on the
same route to have a rethink and retrace their steps.
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