Africa’s maiden vitaminised rice mill out soon in Cross River, governor promises

Africa’s inaugural vitaminised rice mill to come on stream soon in Cross River State, Governor Ben Ayade has promised.

Speaking at the weekend during inspection of equipment at the mill in company of his predecessor, Senator Liyel Imoke, the governor explained that “this is the first vitaminised rice mill in Africa. It is the latest technology and an adoption of the most sophisticated technique, part of which is my own intellectual input and design.”

Acknowledging the foreign expertise that had gone into the project, Ayade stated: “We have a team here from Germany which is working to make the plant run fully on solar, two megawatts of power and two megawatts of battery storage. So, day and night, it will run without recourse to diesel.

“If you want to run on diesel, it means you will be operating at a loss and that is why the team is here with me from Germany because they have been tested and proven in the industrial park in Calabar. So, we want to extend that and have them do this plant.”

He added: “Very soon, you will see this plant running. When you see our rice, you will know it is fresh. This is not like the imported type. So, very soon, we are going to explode.”