Food Security: Nasarawa harvests 600,000 bags of rice from state-owned farm, targets over 1m bags

From Abel Leonard, Lafia

Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has expressed satisfaction with the ongoing rice harvest at the state’s expansive farm project, announcing that over 600,000 bags have been harvested so far the representing about 50 percent of the total output expected from the current cycle.

The governor disclosed this on Thursday during an inspection visit to the Jangwa farm, where he commended officials, partner organisations, security agencies, and host communities for their contributions to the success of the project.

“We have started harvesting a little over two weeks ago, and we still have about two weeks more to finish,” So far, we have close to 600,000 bags that have already been harvested, and that is about 50 percent of what we have done because the farm where we are at the moment is just about 50 percent of the total area cultivated.”

He also lauded the efforts of key officers, including Mohammed Ehimoga and former Permanent Secretary of Agriculture, P.S. Darko, for coordinating field operations. The governor further appreciated the Civil Defence Corps for providing security and workers from Ayaikeke, Agua Taishi, and Njangwa communities, who form the bulk of the labour force.

“We are happy with everybody, we are happy with everything, and we thank God Almighty,” he added.

Sule revealed that the harvested rice is already being moved to processing mills in Abuja and Lokoja for milling and packaging ahead of the official unveiling of the state-branded Nasako Rice.

“The launching of our Nasarawa-branded rice, ‘Nasako Rice’, is going to be done in Abuja after the milling of what we are doing here,” he stated.

On post-harvest activities, the governor explained that preparations for the next planting cycle would commence immediately. He noted that only about 1,300 hectares were cleared before this year’s planting due to time constraints, adding that more land will be cleared as soon as the harvest is completed.

“After the harvest, we have a lot of activities. We have to go back to prepare the land and do more clearing. Once the harvest is concluded, we will continue with the additional clearing, apply fertilizer, and prepare for another planting season,” he said.

Governor Sule also acknowledged the support of the state’s private-sector partner, Silvex, for its role in driving the project’s implementation.