Yobe, Chinese investors partner to develop 10,000 hectares rice plantation project

Mai Mala Buni, governor of Yobe, says a group of Chinese investors will establish 10,000 hectares of rice plantation under a trial agricultural project in the state.

The governor, in a statement issued by Mamman Mohammed, his director-general, press and media affairs, said this when the group paid him a courtesy visit in Danaturu on Wednesday.

He expressed the readiness of his administration to partner with the investors for the agricultural development of the state.

“We are ready to partner with you and we should immediately take advantage of the cropping season,” the governor said.

Buni said agriculture, being the major pre-occupation of the people of the state, would continue to enjoy priority attention.

He urged the people to take advantage of the investment to earn a living and improve the agricultural production of the state.

On his part, Yung Wang, the leader of the group, said investing in the state’s agricultural potential would boost food security and contribute to economic growth.

He explained that the group would plant a high-yielding and improved variety of rice in the state.

“The variety would produce five times the quantity of local rice produced on the same piece of land,” Wang said.

“We are transferring modern agricultural technology currently used in agricultural production in China.”