Agric ministry to supply 40% residents’ food needs.

Agric ministry to supply 40% residents’ food needs.

The Lagos State Government, on Thursday, said its goal in the agriculture sector was to supply 40 per cent of the food needs of residents of the state to achieve food security in the state.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture, Dr Oluwarotimi Fashola, stated this at the Lagos Food Systems Stakeholders’ Breakfast Meeting, held on Thursday at Protea Hotels, Alausa, Ikeja.

The programme, which was organised by the state’s Ministry of Agriculture, was aimed at keeping stakeholders in the sector abreast of developments in the ministry and its plans for the year 2024.

“The ultimate goal is that 40 per cent of our food needs, including rice, will be supplied to the system. 40 per cent gives us food security, not 100 per cent. If we can guarantee 40 per cent of our food needs; rice, tomato, yam, everything, which is part of why the logistic hub is very important to us; then we can rest assured that whatever happens, we are covered. That is the goal, that is objective we are working towards and I’m sure that we’ll get there,” Fashola said.

Giving updates on the operations of the Imota Rice Mill since its inauguration on January 22, 2023, the special adviser noted that about 120,000 bags of rice were produced at the mill in 2023, with the state selling a bag at N30,000 and later at N45,000 in December when market prices were N40,000 and N63,000 respectively.

“We started off by the generosity of Mr Governor selling a bag at N30,000 last year, at the beginning of the season, at the time the market price was N40,000. By December of last year, when we decided that we should move to N45,000, the market price was N63,000,” he said, adding that the state-produced rice is currently sold at N52,000 as against the N60,000 market price.

Speaking earlier, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, highlighted the ministry’s plans towards ensuring food security in the state to include: the Lagos Red Meat Initiative; the Lagos Agri Business Support; the Lagos Food Systems Champions of the Future; and Lagos as Food Value Chains’ Destination, among others.