Some farmers’ associations in Lagos State have predicted further drop in the price of the commodity ahead of the yuletide following Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s slash in the price of Lagos rice.

The farmers made this known in separate interviews with journalists on Sunday in Lagos. Mr Sanwo-Olu recently slashed the price of Lagos Rice from N64,000 to N57,000 per bag, which the farmers described as a good development.

The vice chairman of the All Farmers Association, South-West and Lagos State chapter, Sakin Agbayewa, commended the state government for the strategic move.

Mr Agbayewa said the development would likely bring about competition in the sector, thereby crashing further the price of the commodity.

“And hopefully, we want to believe that with this competitive price and competition, maybe in one week or two weeks, the price of rice will further drop.

Presently, the price of foreign rice is between N52,000 and N56,000, and that depends on where you are buying it. If you are buying it very close to the border, it comes at N52,000.

If you are buying it from the main market, it sells between N54,000 and N55,000 per 50kg bag, and the extra cost comes off as transportation costs,” Mr Agbayewa said.

According to him, if foreign rice sells between N52,000 and N56,000, the consumers may be buying rice that has been stored for over three to five years or even expired.

“It is a good buy, I would prefer the Lagos rice at N57,000 than buy cheaper rice with lower quality,” he said.

On his part, the chairman of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Lagos State chapter, Raphael Hunsa, commended the Lagos State government for the initiative.

“The government is always on top in terms of policy decisions that affect the people.

The Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu dropping the price of rice is a great move.

If production is low, definitely the demand will be high, and subsequently, the price will be high too,” Mr Hunsa said.

The Lagos State government pegging a bag of rice at N57,000 this season is most beneficial to Nigerias.

“We, however, urge the government to continue to support rice farmers to increase our production, and subsequently, the price of rice and other staples will continue to drop.

This Christmas is now at our door, and everyone will celebrate well with this drop in price,” Mr unsa said. NAN

The National Agricultural Land Development Authority says its ongoing Renewed Hope mega farms estates in Kwara and Ekiti will lift no fewer than 100,000 people out of poverty. It said the project would also create 12,000 direct jobs, 30,000 indirect jobs. The executive secretary of NALDA, Cornelius Adebayo, said this on the sidelines of an event organised by the organisation at CoP30 and MoU signing ceremony in Belem, according to a statement on Thursday. He identified the estates as one of the organisation’s flagship projects under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu. He said they were large-scale agricultural settlements covering between 5,000 and 25,000 hectres.

Mr Adebayo said the pioneer estates had begun in Ekiti and Kwara with over 1,200 hectares and 1,050 hectares under cultivation. He said the agency’s carbon-credit initiative is not only a climate solution but also a socio-economic reform that empowers farmers. Mr Adebayo explained that under the Mega Farm Estates, each farmer is allocated five hectares of farmland. He said that this would enable them to earn sustainable agricultural income while also benefiting from a share of carbon credit revenues generated through structured tree-planting and estate-wide reforestation. “Our goal is to move Nigerians from a low-income bracket to a true middle-class economy by combining agricultural productivity with carbon-credit earning, farmers can become independent, prosperous and globally competitive.

These estates are fully mechanised, equipped with complete infrastructure such as roads, irrigation systems, processing hubs, housing, and energy systems to function as full agricultural settlements. As part of their sustainability framework, each estate will receive comprehensive perimeter fencing, along which NALDA will plant thousands of climate-resilient trees capable of generating significant carbon credits over time. This ensures that beyond food production and job creation, farmers within these estates can earn additional income from carbon markets, allowing them to transition from low-income status into the middle-income economy,” he said.

Mr Adebayo said the event provided a platform for Nigeria to share its contributions to global climate solutions, exchange knowledge with partners and strengthen collaboration on nature-based approaches that support mitigation, adaptation, and sustainable land use. He said that over the years the NALDA’s operational mandate was expanded to directly align with Nigeria’s climate commitments by integrating afforestation, reforestation, sustainable land management, and biodiversity enhancement into its plantation programmes. Mr Adebayo said that NALDA’s plantations across different ecological zones represented one of the most promising nature-based climate assets in Nigeria. “They hold the potential to generate high-integrity carbon removals, attract climate finance, and empower thousands of young people and rural farmers. Our presence at CoP30 is to spotlight these transformational efforts and outline the ambitious NALDA Plantation Carbon Roadmap,” he said. NAN

The director-general of the Pan-African Organisation for Small and Medium Industries, Henry Emejuo, says cassava remains central to Africa’s food security and industrial development. Mr Emejuo, who spoke on the sidelines of the just-concluded three-day Africa Cassava Conference in Abuja, described the crop as both an economic commodity and a daily staple across the continent. He said cassava’s versatility made it indispensable in households, as there was hardly a day when a Nigerian or African home did not consume a cassava-based product such as garri or tapioca. Emejuo said the crop also held significant industrial value, producing materials such as ethanol, high-quality cassava flour, sorbitol and healthy sweeteners used across manufacturing sectors.

He said the conference provided a critical platform for policymakers, scientists and industrialists to harmonise strategies that would deepen cassava utilisation and unlock its economic potential. The PAOSMI boss said:” Delegates from more than seven African countries spent three days examining policy, technical and scientific issues affecting the cassava value chain.” He described the conference as a success, saying the outcomes would guide countries in expanding the industrial use of cassava and in strengthening its role in driving economic development. Mustafa Bakano, national president of the Nigeria Cassava Growers Association, said deliberations from the meeting would address key challenges faced by smallholder farmers, including access to finance, farming practices, and industrial standards.

According to him, the presence of financial institutions such as the Bank of Industry offered stakeholders the opportunity to develop practical solutions to present to governments. Michael Kento, an assistant professor of Agricultural Sciences and Food Security at the University of Juba, South Sudan, described the conference as an eye-opener for his country. He expressed South Sudan’s zeal to learn from Nigeria’s leadership in cassava production, especially in extension services, processing, marketing, policy development and research. Mr Kento said Nigeria’s cassava success would translate to the continent’s success, and deeper collaboration between both countries would strengthen the subsector and improve food security, nutrition and industrial growth in South Sudan.

Emmanuel Bobobee of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, said mechanised cassava production was key to transforming cassava into an engine for Africa’s next phase of industrial development. Mr Bobobee said his mechanical cassava harvester, already in use in several countries, could support large-scale production if adopted more widely. He added, ”The participation of seven countries demonstrates rising continental interest in cassava, and the crop should be placed at the centre of Africa’s fourth industrial revolution. Ghana and Nigeria share similar agricultural challenges, and both countries stand to benefit from sharing innovations and strengthening cross-border collaboration.*

The three-day conference brought together policymakers, researchers, industrialists and farmers to explore opportunities in processing, technology adoption, export and the development of cassava-based products across Africa. It ended with a dinner and the presentation of awards to distinguished players and partners in the sector.