Enugu State has reiterated its willingness to assist farmers with farm inputs to boost food production and security.
Programme Manager of the Enugu State Agricultural Development Programme (ENADEP) Boniface Eze said the government had acquired 1,000 hectares of land for dry season rice production to make Enugu retain its status as the highest rice producing state in the Southeast. According to him, eight of the 17 local government areas produce rice in commercial quantity.
Eze added that 50 rice destoning machines were distributed to farmers last year to enable them produce more quality rice. He said the inputs would expose the farmers to new techniques of producing, processing, packaging and marketing rice to attract more buyers.
He said: “The government’s effort has become imperative because the state is the bedrock of rice production in the Southeast.
“Parboiling is one of the things that leads to having less stones in rice. When you parboil with good technique, the chances of having stone will not be there.”
Eze reiterated government’s determination to sustain and improve rice production in the state for local consumption and exports.
He added that as part of efforts to boost rice production in the country, the government would train extension agents who would in turn train the parboilers. He noted that parboilers who had been trained in other states had adopted the technology and testified to increase in yields and income.
Eze was confident that those is Enugu would not be left out.
“This training is a very good one and it has come to the right people because Enugu State is the home of rice production,” he added.