Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State says the government is targeting a harvest of 1.2 million bags of rice from its farm located in Jangwa and Agwatashi, on the boundary between Awe and Obi local government areas.

The state government had cultivated 3,300 hectares of rice from the 10,000 hectares acquired for the rice project in the area.

Sule, while inspecting the rice harvest on Friday, expressed delight with the progress recorded so far, noting that more than 600,000 bags of rice had been harvested within two weeks of the exercise.

“This is about 50 per cent of the harvest so far, and we still have about two more weeks to the end of the harvest,” he said.

The governor said that plans were underway to expand cultivation in the next farming cycle.

He explained that transportation of harvested paddy to Abuja and Lokoja in Kogi State for milling and branding had already commenced.

He also announced that the state had partnered with Silvex International, a leading rice processing company, to purchase and process rice from the farm under the Nasarawa Agro-Commodity Company (NASACCO) brand.

According to Sule, the processed product, to be marketed as “NASACCO Gold”, is expected to boost the visibility and competitiveness of Nasarawa rice and contribute to national food security.

“We will soon launch the NASACCO rice in Abuja after the harvest and milling of this year’s produce,” Sule said.

The governor said clearing the remaining portion of the farmland would begin after the harvest, in preparation for the next farming season.

He added that the state had put measures in place to ensure the sustainability of the project beyond the tenure of the present administration, given its potential for food security, job creation and value-chain development.

Sule commended host communities, security agencies, partners, state officials and farm workers for their support throughout the season.

He said the initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s agricultural transformation agenda aimed at boosting food production and creating jobs across the country.

In other news, in an empowering initiative commemorating World Cervical Cancer Day, the Nasarawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NAPHDA), in partnership with Pathfinder International, have launched a comprehensive free cervical cancer screening program for women and vaccination against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) for adolescent girls in Kwandere, Lafia.

The program was inaugurated by Her Excellency Hajiya Salifat Abdullahi Sule, the First Lady of Nasarawa State.

Hajiya Salifat Sule passionately appealed to women to take advantage of the opportunity to protect their health.

“Health is wealth. Let us help ourselves by utilising this free cervical cancer screening provided by the state government and our partners for the well-being of our children,” she pleaded.