ATIKU CUSHIONS HERDSMEN/FAMERS CLASH

Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar yesterday in Abuja laid the foundation stone of a livestock feed factory that would address the clashes between the Fulani herdsmen and farmers all over the country. According to him, the factory, Rico Gado Nutrition Limited, located at the Idu Industrial area in Abuja has the capacity to turn out 50 tonnes per hour of animal feed and which will feed about 90 million cows when completed in 32 weeks.

Speaking at the foundation laying ceremony, the former Vice President said: “When we set up Rico Gado Nutrition Nigeria, we decided to invest in advanced state-of-the-art facilities because we wanted to be in a position to meet farmers’ needs and also have the capacity and flexibility to quickly respond to the needs of the market.

“We agreed that, if we wanted to succeed, we would have to offer our customers the best possible product at the best possible price, in the quickest possible time. And because we want farming to once more, become profitable. “We are contributing to job creation, technology transfer and progressive change in farming culture. We believe there is a future in farming.

We went against the usual way of doing business in Nigeria because we did not just want to build a factory; we wanted to build a value chain. “We wanted to ensure that the bulk of the value added stayed with the farmers who do the hard work of growing the grains and seeds we buy, process, and market. We want more people to engage in and profit from the cultivation of the seeds and grains we buy and process, and to have a long-term perspective on farming.

“It is in its early days, but I think we’re on the right track. I’m very proud of Rico Gado Nutrition Nigeria’s first plant and the agricultural cluster that is growing along its supply lines and that extends well beyond Adamawa state.

“I’m immensely pleased that, today, we are gathered here in Abuja to break ground for our second, even bigger plant, which will create an even longer value chain. This plant, on this five hectare land in Idu Industrial Layout, is expected to be completed in 32 weeks.

It will initially have an installed capacity of 50 tonnes per hour and will enable us serve a wider market as we prepare to build another plant in a third location soon. “Despite the doubts about our economy because of current challenges, we are confident about Nigeria’s future and about our future.

I think I speak for my partners in this joint venture when I say: We know what we are getting into, and we’re doing it because we believe in Nigeria, because we believe that Nigeria will overcome its current difficulties, we believe our nation will change for the better. “We break ground today because we know we can complete this plant on time and on budget; and because we can count on our management team and on our construction crew, because we know we can trust each other, and because we know we have the experience and the expertise to work around the obstacles we will face”.

In his opening remarks, the Chairman, Board of Directors of the company, Alhaji Abubakar Ahmed Song, disclosed that the company established in partnership with some Portuguese investors, have the potential to change the face of livestock production in Nigeria.