The Niger State Government has met with the committee set up by the Kontagora Emirate Council to look into the 5,000 hectares of land to be acquired by Brains and Hammers for the Rice City project in the Wushishi Local Government area.
The Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Niger State, Barr. Maurice Bello Magaji, led other officials of the ministry and representatives of Brains and Hammers to the meeting at the Emir's Palace, Kontagora, Thursday.
Barr. Maurice explained that whenever the government is interested in acquiring land or partnering with communities in any part of the state, it engages the stakeholders in a side board meeting to explain to those involved the purpose the land is meant for and how the project would benefit the people.
He disclosed that Brains and Hammers Green was interested in acquiring 5,000 hectares of land in Wushishi for the purpose of rice farming, adding that Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago named himself the Farmer Governor while on a visit to the Rice City in Wushishi, which happened to be under Kontagora Emirate.
The Commissioner added that the side board meeting was an opportunity to explain to the Emirate, community leaders and all those involved what the projects was all about and how it will benefit the people and the extent of land the government was interested in.
He further stated that the government was assisting in facilitating the acquisition of the land by Brains and Hammers for the benefit of the people of the community, the state, and the country at large.
The Community Relations Officer of Brains and Hammers, Mohammed Arah, who represented his company at the sitting, said they were into a lot of sectors, which included housing, hospitality, and agriculture, saying they wanted to take advantage of the abundant resources in the state to create jobs for the people.
He said that Brains and Hammers were into problem solving across sectors and that agriculture was where their intervention was needed at the moment because they wanted to feed the nation, revealing that they were aiming at building the biggest rice city in Africa through mechanised farming.
Mohammed Arah disclosed that they have been in Wushishi for about five years, testing and running the project through research and development, aiming to attract youths into agriculture through mechanised farming.
In his submission, the Magayakin Kontagora and Chairman of the Committee, Alhaji Adamu Kanta, said the initiative by Brains and Hammers Green was good and that it would benefit their people.
He promised that the Emirate Council will support the initiative because the explanations show that the project will benefit their people if well managed, adding that sensitization is very important and that they will sensitise the people of the project community.