The Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, has signed an agreement with the Lagos Commodities and Future Exchange (LCFE) and key capital market operators, to generate tradable financial instruments for the successful launch of Eko Rice into the market.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture and Rice Mill Initiative, Dr. Oluwarotimi Fashola, noted during the agreement signing that the partnership would ensure liquidity for continuous supply of paddy for the Imota rice mill and availability of finished rice in the market.
Fashola pointed out that the partnership will help to sustain a continuous flow of paddy into Imota to make the mill function optimally, saying the entire equipment and infrastructure will be useless without enough rice paddy, which is the major raw material.
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“A lot has been said about the consumption of rice in Lagos, and I am sure everyone would have had to eat rice in the course of this week.” “The Eko rice is already in the system, and the good thing is that this partnership will create direct access to it for everyone and also ensure sustainability,” he said.
On his own, the Managing Director of LCFE, Mr. Akinsola Akeredolu-Ale, disclosed that the liquidity for the project would be raised in batches, with N5b targeted for the first batch, N30b expected to be raised within six months, and thereafter the N100b yearly target.
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He assured that the exchange would drive the support of the market towards the project, while disclosing that many licensed capital market professionals are already working on various financial instruments to deepen the rice value chain.
“Investors are eager to start investing in the rice mill and other rice-backed commodity instruments.” “Exchange aggregators have already started supplying paddy to the mill, and more are en route to the mill as we speak,” he said.
