In advance of the Yuletide, the Lagos State Government announced on Wednesday that it has started distributing Eko Rice to the state's major markets.During a facilities visit of the Lagos Rice Mill, Imota, in the Ikorodu region of Lagos State, Dr. Oluwarotimi Fashola, Special Adviser to the State Governor on Agriculture, made this statement.
According to Fashola, the price of a 50 kg bag of Eko rice would range from N43,000 to N45,000, while a 25 kg bag would cost N22,500.
According to him, locals could buy Eko Rice from the company that runs the mill, Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange (LCFE).
According to Fashola, locals may buy rice at a few marketplaces, such as Daleko in Mushin, Ketu and Iddo, Ikorodu, and other significant markets in the state.
He stated that arrangements had been made for public employees to purchase from the Lagos State Inputs Supply Authority (LAISA), located in Oko-Oba, Agege.
Additionally, I must inform you that we do not deal in rice directly. The Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange is a partner of ours.
Let's put it this way: they are the owners and the bulk of our rice.
"Because of the agreement we have with them, distributors of head rice pay them equally when they purchase and pay the paddy suppliers or distributors.
"Because of the nature of the partnership, they are the only ones who sell rice, thus you cannot purchase goods from any other exchange. LAISA purchases the goods and resells them inside Alausa.
Therefore, every head of rice that leaves this mill and every paddy that enters is obtained through commodity trade.
"We function as the engine room for all of this activity, which is a significant collaboration or investment between the public and private sectors, made possible by the Governor.
This is the first instance of a public firm being managed by a private company in the country.
As a result, even if rice is sold on the public market, civil servants' and public servants' interests are also at stake. He stated, "LAISA is the intermediary that performs that."
According to the special adviser, the authorized sales and distribution are supervised by an LCFE person stationed at the rice mill.
Collateral managers are the commodity exchange's eyes and ears in this regard. Thus, the manager makes sure that everything is done correctly when you pay the commodities exchange," he said.
With time, the state government would enhance the distribution channels, according to Fashola.
But he asked the locals to accept things as they are.
According to Fashola, the government aimed to increase the mill's capacity by twenty percent.
However, the mill could only generate 10% at the moment, he claimed.
Although Fashola acknowledged that the rice might not be available in every market at this time, he pledged to gradually enhance distribution.
"Let us grasp something: although it is in the market, we must control our expectations when it comes to seeing it there.
Nigeria's biggest rice user is Lagos. 40 million bags of rice are consumed in Lagos each year.
"We can start reducing it down to what a person consumes in a year since we have roughly 25 million people on a daily basis and each person consumes about 50 kilograms annually.
Ten percent of what Lagos consumes is produced by us. Although we currently produce 10%, our goal is to reach 20%.
You can see from that ratio that we are only able to accomplish so much, which is why we are telling you to go to this market and that market in order to succeed.
"We are unable to stock every market in Lagos with Eko Rice. Accordingly, you will obtain it if you visit Ikorodu, you will obtain it if you visit Mushin's Daleko Market, and you will obtain it if you visit Ketu Market.
"If you want to buy a bag, you can go to Lagos Commodities Futures Exchange and make that purchase," he said.