The Chairman, FullMark Group, Mr. Sriram Venkateswaran; the Emir of Kano, HRH Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II and the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Shri B.N Reddy during the inauguration of the multi-million naira state-of-the-art Amarawa Rice Mill located at Amarawa Village, in Gezawa Local Government Area of Kano State on Thursday.

By Daniels Ekugo

In what could be best described as a major boost to local rice production in the country’s quest to attain self-sufficiency in its production and reduce importation of the commodity to the barest minimum, a new 288 metric tonnes per day capacity Amarawa Rice Mill has been inaugurated.

As part of activities marking his official visit to Kano State, President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR), last week, inaugurated a new state-of-the-art rice mill factory located at Amarawa Village, in Gezawa Local Government Area of Kano State.

Owned and operated by Amarava Agro Processors Limited, a subsidiary of Fullmark Group, the new factory is the first made in Nigeria Rice Mill with all fabrications and installations of the factory made in Kano with almost 100 percent local content.

L-R. The Executive Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar; President Muhammadu Buhari, the Executive Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and the Chairman, FullMark Group, Mr. Sriram Venkateswaran during the inauguration of the multi-million naira state-of-the-art Amarawa Rice Mill located at Amarawa Village, Gezawa Local Government Area of Kano State recently.

Speaking during the inauguration of the factory, President Muhammadu Buhari commended the management of Fullmark Group for its effort, which he noted is in line with the agricultural revolution of his government to reduce importation of rice by encouraging local farmers and investors.

President Muhammadu Buhari noted that investment in Rice Mills would encourage and boost the confidence of the local rice farmers and a right step in the right direction in moving Nigeria closer to complete independent from importation of rice and improve food security across the country.

He explained that, “Nigeria’s continued dependence on rice importation has put a strain on the economy as well as the nation’s food flow as a substantial amount of our foreign exchange goes into rice importation yearly. With this mill in operation, Nigeria would continue to progress towards food self-sufficiency.”

Also speaking at the inauguration of the factory, the chairman of Fullmark Group Mr. SriramVenkateswaran revealed that the entire idea of the project was conceived, designed, manufactured, executed from start-to-finish in Kano, Nigeria.

Explaining the production capacity of the factory,Mr. Sriram disclosed that Amarava Agro Processors Limited has the capacity to produce up to 288 metric tonnes of top quality per-boiled rice per day when operating in full capacity but its currently producing 250 metric tonnes per day.

While commenting on the quality of the Rice produced from the mill, Sriram said, “Our rice is best in class in terms of quality which is comparable to the best available anywhere in the world and is often compared to Thai Rice.”

He further revealed that beyond being the first made in Nigeria Rice Mill facility, the Amarava Agro Processors LimitedRice Mill is the first to be fully equipped with the capacity to convert waste to energy.

“We use the steam from the mill to drive steam turbines which generates about 500 KVA of electricity which is used in powering the factory and this is why we say that at Amarava, we believe in producing more and conserving more” he added.

Mr. Sriramthen commended President Buhari’s led Government for its sustained efforts in empowering farmers and enriching the nation through well thought-out agricultural developmental policies. He assured the President that the company would continue to support the effort of the government to enhance and stabilize food production in the country.

In his own remarks at the occasion the Governor of Kano State, AlhajiAbdullahi Umar Ganduje also expressed delight over the new Rice Mill, applauding the management of the company for locating and selecting Kano for such a strategic agriculture project. “It is very laudable for Amarava Agro Processors Limited to have picked the Amarawa Village, in Gezawa Local Government Area for this project. This shows that the company places high importance on social development as well as industrial growth.”