Kwara State has moved closer to establishing itself as a hub for agriculture in the West African sub-region as its joint venture partner for the N70 billion rice cultivation and processing project, Valsolar S.L. 2006 of Spain, says the project will start by December, 2012. This follows Valsolar S.L 2006’s acquisition of funds for the project that has an initial life span of 4 years. Conveying news the news to the Kwara State government via a letter last week, Valsolar S. L. 2006 said following its board’s earlier approval of the project and subsequent acquisition of funds for the project, it is ready to commence operations within the next 90 days.
Reacting to the news, Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed welcomed the development as the project is key to his administration’s efforts to provide food for the people, jobs for the youths and inputs for agro-allied industries while at the same time growing the state’s economy through agriculture. “ I am particularly pleased that this project will be generating 12000 jobs across the value chain as well as substantially growing the state’s economy. Our farmers will also benefit from the technology transfer component of the project. No doubt, this huge project is one of several envisaged under the Kwara State Agricultural Modernization Plan (KAMP) the implementation of which is soon to commence”, he said.
Speaking further on the project details, Mr. Abayomi Ogunsola, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Investment, Policy and Strategy, said under the terms of the joint venture Memorandum of Agreement signed by the state government and Valsolar S.L last February in Ilorin, Kwara’s State capital, the company is to invest N70b in the project over the next four years while the state government will provide 20000 hectares of land as well as infrastructural support for the project which will operate under a registered joint venture company, Valsolar-Kwara Limited. According to Ogunsola, each annual module of the project will see the company cultivate 5000 hectares of land and produce 40000 tons of rice for local and international consumption. Following satellite and laboratory soil analyses earlier in the year, Valsolar-Kwara has decided to site the projects in communities along the River Niger in Kwara North, namely Tsonga, Pategi, Bacita and Lafiagi, he said.