Kwara State governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, yesterday lamented that Nigeria has spent at least $2.6bn every year on the importation of rice into the country, a situation he said needed to be addressed urgently. Ahmed, who called for a revolution in the agricultural sector, made the observation at a ceremony where he signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Spanish company; Vasolar Consortium, an agricultural outfit at the Government House, in Ilorin yesterday.

The project, which is a tripartite partnership between the Kwara State government, the Spanish outfit and the Federal Government, will cost Vasolar about N70bn in four years while the state is to make 20,000 hectares of land available in a format of the Shonga commercial farm project.

Governor Ahmed said the farm project would be sited in the northern part of Edu, Patigi and Ifelodun Local Government areas of the state which is expected to produce at least 40, 000 tonnes of rice annually.

Explaining the gains of the farm project, which propelled the commitment of the government, Ahmed said he had in mind, the over 70 percent youths whose larger percentage will be gainfully engaged as well as the local farmers, who would learn modern techniques of rice farming. The governor also said local farmers would enjoy the privilege of traveling to Spain for advanced technical knowledge.

Ahmed said his government chose rice production project because of its readymade market as rice has become a staple food everywhere in the world, adding that the Spanish firm was engaged because of its expertise and knowledge in rice production spanning more than 50 years.

Earlier, Chairman of Vasolar consortium, Mr. Miguel Gallardo Macias, said Kwara State has got all it takes to succeed in the rice project because of the availability of water, sun, and soil and praised the state government's political will to develop agriculture.

Marcias appreciated the agrarian nature of the climate and vegetation of Nigeria which he said needed to be adequately tapped. He recalled what led to an agricultural revolution in Spain some 50 years ago when the country could no longer meet its food production needs. The Guaranty Trust Bank, GTB, the appointed bankers for the project and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture were represented at the ceremony.