China to site rice mill in Akwa Ibom

Chinese investors have indicated their interest to establish an integrated state-of-the-art rice mill in Akwa Ibom as a means of boosting rice production. The Chairman of Heilongjiang Hegang Sanjiang Plain Rice Group, Heilongjiang, China, Mr. Wang Jingxin stated this when the delegation paid a courtesy visit on the State commissioner for Agriculture and Natural resources, Dr. Nathan Matthew Ekaette in his office, Uyo.
Mr. Jingxin, accompanied by the Consular-General of Nigerian Embassy in China, Ambassador Ali Ocheni, the Trade Commissioner in the Embassy, Mr. A. Agboluaje hinted of plans to set up a rice research institute in the State to boost rice production.

He said they were in the State to scout for investment potentials in the rice value chain by carrying out rice production of 500 hectares on a pilot basis as well as expanding rice production from 500 hectares to 10,000 hectares.
Responding, the Agriculture commissioner, Dr. Ekaette assured the team of government preparedness to support them through the provision of an enabling environment for their business, emphasizing that Akwa Ibom has an extensive fertile swamp land of over 100,000 hectares most suitable for rice cultivation with an average yield of 4.5metres per hectares, the highest in the country.
In a similar development, the Ministry’s team led by the Commissioner took the investing group on a facility tour of the moribund Government Rice Farm at Mbiabet Ikpe, Ini LGA. After a thorough assessment of the farm and its adjoining land, the team said there was no need to take soil samples for testing as the luxuriant nature of rice and grasses in the field was an indicator of the high fertility of the soil.
The Chinese investors who expressed their desire to invest in rice production in the State, listed such conditions as construction of a 40-kilometre Odoro Ikpe-Mbiabet Ikpe-Ikot Essiyere Road, clearing of 500 hectares swamp land for the pilot cultivation of rice, undertaking of a facility tour of the company’s holdings in China by relevant Akwa Ibom Government officials to ascertain its operational capacity in the Rice Value Chain as well as signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the company and the State Government.