El-Rufai opens N2.5bn rice mill in Kaduna

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna on Friday inaugurated FaLGates Rice Mill on the second day of the 7th edition of Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit (KadInvest 7.0).

FaLGates is a N2.5 billion Agric and Agro-Allied company which has the largest rice mill in Kaduna state, located at Sobawa, Rigachikun.

The governor, who was accompanied by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, and senior government officials to the event, praised the proprietor, 32-year-old Sadiq Falalu, for investing in Kaduna.

Speaking at the event, the proprietor of FaL Gate recalled that the journey of setting up the rice mill started in 2016, when he approached the Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA) for land allocation.

He said that afterwards, the company set up the largest Rice Processing Plant in Kaduna State, with processing capacity of about 300MT per day, that is over 100,000MT per annum.

Sadiq thanked Governor El-Rufai for approving the company’s land application  and for providing all the aftercare services rendered by Kaduna State Government through KADIPA, Kaduna Geographic Information Service (KADGIS), Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KASUPDA), Ministry of Business, Innovation and Technology.

According to him, FaL Gate employs over 400 people and has created 1,000 indirect jobs, adding that it has built a school for Sobawa community which has over 50 students.

“The Village Head of Sobawa donated a part of his land and we built the Fulani Community School of which today, we have over 50 students because we all know that education is one of the pivots to the growth of any society,” he noted.

As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, Sadiq said that FaL Gate has also built a security post with a watch tower, which is a five-bedroom bungalow en suite, that can accommodate at least four people per room.

According to the proprietor of FaL Gate, the bungalow has a kitchen and a 24-hour electricity and water supply, hoping that the Army will take possession of the house.

Meanwhile, the governor has inaugurated another company, AFEX Agricultural Commodity Warehouses and Multi grains Processing Plant on Zaria-Kano highway.

El-Rufai said the company would help farmers in the state in the preparation of farm produce, cleaning and logistics, as well as getting market.

He said such investment would make Nigeria to be a food secured country.

Mr. Ayodeji Balogun, Chief Executive Officer, AFEX, said the company would produce over 100,000 metric tonnes of grains yearly.

He said the company was currently working with 300 farmers within the state, creating 350 direct jobs for the youth.

Balogun said that the company would, over time, invest more in agric value chain and value addition, to enhance agricultural production in the state.

El-Rufai is scheduled to inaugurate more public and private sector projects in the state as part of the successes of Kaduna Investment Summit, which began in 2017.

The 7th Kaduna Investment Summit opened on Thursday.

The Star