Index to Nigerian Newspapers

THE Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has distributed certified rice seeds to smallholder farmers in the southwest region. The distribution exercise, which was held in Ibadan, Oyo State, recently, had clusters of smallholder rice farmers from Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti States as beneficiaries. In his address, the Director of Agriculture, Mr Abdullah Abubakar, represented by Mr Dauda Ayeleke of the Rice Value Chain unit, urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the input to increase rice productivity in order to enhance their livelihoods. Abubakar noted that Nigeria, being the highest rice-producing country in Africa, must sustain its production level and increase to achieve desired self-sufficiency target in food production.