Dangote to launch 25,000 hectares of rice outgrowers scheme in Sokoto State

   Dangote Rice, a subsidiary of Dangote Group, is to launch in Sokoto, Sokoto State, its multi-million naira 25, 000 hectares of rice out-growers scheme, with a prospect of hundreds of thousands of jobs for rural communities’ residents.


   The group’s President, AlikoDangote, said at the weekend that the company would on Wednesday launch a pilot project of 500 ha by Gonroyo dam, in Goronyo community.

   Gonroyo dam is the second largest in the country, after Kainji. The ceremony, to be performed by Governor AminuTambuwa, will witness seedlings being distributed to local farmers, who will plant the seed after which Dangote Rice Company will buy from them for milling and final processing.

    Sokoto State is the second after Jigawa of the 14 states spread across the area where Dangote Rice plans to operate out-grower scheme to empower local farmers and create job opportunities for rural dwellers and reduce migration to the cities.

   Dangote Rice projects in the states, when operational, will generate jobs and increase income for smallholder farmers, while diversifying Nigeria’s economy and reducing the nation’s food import bill.