The Niger State Government has signed a framework agreement for commodities off-taker between Niger Food Security and Logistics Company, a state-based limited liability company, and Tropical General Investments (TGI), a privately-owned company.
The agreement which was witnessed by Governor Umar Mohammed Bago and Chairman, Union Bank Plc and TGI Executive Vice Chairman, Mal Faruk Gumel, was jointly signed by the Chairman, Niger Foods, Sammy Adigun, and Executive Director, TGI Group, Sadik Kassim.
According to a statement issued by the Special Adviser on Digital Media and Strategy to the Governor, Abdullberqy Usman Ebbo, the agreement is to boost efforts towards food security and promote economic diversification in Niger State.
Under the arrangement, the Niger State Government, the producer, shall be responsible for the cultivation, harvesting, aggregation, and sales of rice paddy, soya beans, maize, sesame seeds to the off-taker, Tropical General Investments, who shall be responsible for the transportation, logistics, and purchase of farm produce.
Tropical General Investments is part of the conglomerate that includes Union Bank, Wacot Rice, Wasil, and Chi groups.
This transaction involves the production of 600,000 – 1 million tons of food per year over the next five years.
In his remarks, Governor Bago indicated that the production will employ over 100,000 farmers, farming on over 100,000 hectares across Niger State.
The initiative, according to Governor Bago, is expected to bring over N1 trillion a year to the Niger State’s economy annually.
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