Lagos rice mill creates 2,000 jobs with 2.5m bag capacity

The Lagos Rice Mill at Imota has created over 2,000 jobs, empowered about 500 farmers and supported more than 1,500 hectares of paddy farmland, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said.

The governor, who disclosed that the mill has a capacity of about 2.5 million 50-kilogram bags of rice a year, said the project is central to the state’s drive for food security.

Sanwo-Olu spoke on Friday at the grand finale of the 2026 World Food Day celebration in Lagos. He was represented by Obafemi Hamzat, his deputy, who is the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate for the 2027 election in the state.

Speaking on the theme “Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow,” Sanwo-Olu said Lagos, as Nigeria’s smallest state by landmass with over 22 million people, cannot achieve food security by expanding farmland.

“We cannot achieve food security by expanding farmland. We achieve it by producing more on the land we have, sourcing efficiently from partner states, processing more of what we consume, and moving food from farm to household with less waste,” he said.

He said that the state has pursued a resilient, inclusive and sustainable food system under its Five-Year Agricultural and Food Systems Roadmap, which targets an increase in food self-sufficiency from about 20 percent to 40 percent.

At the centre of the agenda is a three-tier market structure comprising the Lagos Central Food Security Systems and Logistics Hub, Mid-Level Agro-Produce Hubs, and last-mile distribution networks designed to cut intermediaries and food waste.

Sanwo-Olu said Phase One of the Central Hub at Ketu-Ereyun, Epe, is at an advanced stage, while two Mid-Level Hubs at Abijo in Ibeju-Lekki and at Dairy Farm in Agege have been commissioned. Construction is ongoing at Opebi in Ikeja and Bombata on Lagos Island, with more hubs planned across local governments.

The Imota rice mill, commissioned in January 2023, is a key part of the production and processing pillar, alongside other projects in mechanisation, livestock and fisheries.

The governor said that the Eko Agro Mechanisation Program, launched in February 2023, gives smallholder farmers access to machinery through the Tractor-On-The-Go app, with more than 3,000 hectares cultivated and about 6,000 farmers benefiting.

In livestock, he said that the Cattle Feedlot Project on about 750 hectares at Igbodu, Epe, will fatten over 100,000 cattle annually when completed, with hygienic and traceable beef production. At the pilot dairy farm in Iyafin, Badagry, fresh milk production has started with reported daily yields above 24 litres per cow.

In fisheries, the Lagos Aquaculture Centre of Excellence at Igbonla, Epe, being developed as a public-private partnership, will include a hatchery, feed mill and processing plant with annual capacities of about 50 million fingerlings, 2,000 tons of fish and 24,000 tons of aqua feed, he noted.

On farmers, Sanwo-Olu said the Lagos Agripreneurship Program launched in 2020 has trained over 4,400 youths and women, with more than 2,000 receiving assets and inputs.

He announced that N200 million has been set aside for Lagos Agrithon 3.0 to scale innovations that raise productivity and cut post-harvest losses, after N150 million was awarded at Agrinnovation Summit 2.0. Over 200 entries have been received for the new edition.

Through the Ounje Eko Farmers Subsidy Program, he said 5,000 farmers received a 25 percent subsidy on animal feed, fertilisers and tractor-hiring services, helping to stabilise egg prices in 2025.

Sanwo-Olu, in what he described as his last World Food Day as governor, paid tribute to farmers.

“I see you. I recognise the early mornings, the uncertain weather, the rising costs, and the sacrifices you make to keep our tables full. You have not merely been beneficiaries of our programs. You have been our partners,” he said.

“My tenure will end, but the importance of the farmer must never diminish, and our commitment to food security must outlive any administration. Keep planting, keep producing, keep innovating, and keep believing.”

In her welcome address, Abisola Olusanya, commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Lagos State, said the state had to rethink agriculture for a city like Lagos.

“Seven and a half years ago, we began rethinking what agriculture should mean in a city like Lagos.”

“We even changed the name of our Ministry to Agriculture and Food Systems, because we had come to understand that growing food was only one part of the much larger business of feeding people.”

According to her, the focus has been on connecting the value chain. “What has mattered to us throughout this journey is how these interventions connect.”

“The farmer needs a buyer, the processor needs raw materials, the trader needs markets, and the consumer needs affordable food,” she said, adding that Eko logistics, Produce for Lagos and the N500 billion Offtake Guarantee Fund are part of efforts to bring the pieces together.

She said that much work remains but continuity is assured. “Some projects are already serving people, others are taking shape, and several will require continued investment and commitment, but the great news is that the next administration is a part of this already,” the commissioner said.