Anna Okon
A firm, Pearl Universal Impex, has increased its production of local rice to 20,000 metric tonnes.
A statement quoted the Managing Director of PJS Group, the parent company of Pearl Universal Impex, Mr. Pulkit Jain, as saying that the firm had invested over N5bn in local rice cultivation through its subsidiary, PJS Agro farms.
He said that PJS’s farming strategy was to cultivate rice three times in a year, covering both the dry and wet seasons.
He said that the investment by Pearl had brought about significant improvement in the lives of several Nigerians through employment as well as out-grower rice farmers, who were being trained by the firm.
According to him, the company had to refurbish the irrigation system as well as import several farming machinery and earth equipment to prepare the land for farming since it was abandoned for over 20 years.
Jain urged the government to sustain the ban on rice importation to enable rice producers and investors to add value to the nation’s economy through backward integration.
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