Jigawa State governor, Umar Namadi, has said this year’s dry season rice production hit 800,000 tonnes.

Mr Namadi made this known shortly after inspection of rice forms in Auyo, Hadejia Miga and Ringim Local Government Areas of the state.

The governor, therefore, expressed happiness that the 200,000 hectares of rice farms currently being cultivated across the state would no doubt reduce the nation’s food insecurity challenges.

“Today, I think I am one of the happiest people. We have gone round all the rice farms in Jigawa and by our estimation, about 200,000 hectares of rice have been cultivated in the state.

“With these 200,000 hectares, this translates to almost 800,000 tonnes of rice. This 800,000 tonnes of rice is quite huge in Nigeria and therefore by the time we multiply these by the rainy season, we will have an estimate of 1.6 million tonnes of rice. The 1.6 million tonnes of rice is about 27 per cent of Nigeria’s rice requirement.

“If Jigawa can produce 27 per cent of Nigeria’s rice requirement then we are on the right course. Therefore, we will continue to support our farmers. We will continue to encourage them and continue to support the renewed hope agenda, especially as it relates to food security in Nigeria,” the governor said.

Mr Namadi noted that the rice production was the state’s modest contribution to the food security in Nigeria.

He stated, “We will continue to improve and that’s why we are going round to encourage the farmers and understand their problems so that we will be able to deal with these problems.”

He added that the only support given to rice farmers was the fertiliser subsidy given by President Bola Tinubu, adding that the state government must do all it could to multiply its support to the teeming rice farming communities in the state.

The governor didn’t immediately explain his administration’s plans toward tackling the annual flood disaster which for years had been a threat to farmers along river bank communities where the state planned to cultivate rice during dry season in the same areas.

The majority of the farms visited by the governor are owned by small-scale farmers who single handed put efforts to perfect the cultivation.

The thousands of hectares of farmlands were hardly being cultivated during rainy seasons by the farming communities as a result of annual floods being experienced in the areas.

Most flooding in the areas were linked to problems associated with the overflow of Minjibir, Tiga and Challawa dams in Kano State, as well as the Rivers in Ringim and Hadejia in Jigawa.

Other communities usually affected by the annual flood in the areas visited include Malammadori, Kafin Hausa, Kaugama, Taura, Ringim and Jahun.

(NAN)