FG to rake in N6bn a year from 20 silo concessions

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has announced the concessions of 20 silos to private investors will bump Nigerias annual revenue up by N6 billion.The concession of the government grain houses is an actualisation of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) on Silo program.This was disclosed at the handover ceremony of the concessioned silos to successful concessionaires in Abuja on Tuesday in the presence of various agricultural stakeholders, agencies, including the Director General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Chidi Izuwah.Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh stated government is keeping six of the silos owned by the country and will concession the rest to private companies and investors.He adjured the concessionaires to manage the silos appropriately, holding the nutritional value of the grains of utmost importance.Read Also:Buhari presides over valedictory FECWe have a problem with aflatoxin and it is getting worse with rising temperatures, he notified.So when storing your grains, spray them with Aflasafe and store them in jute bags as polypropylene bags are against national and international safety regulation, he advised.Permanent Secretary of the FMARD, Dr. Abdulkadir Muazu, represented by the Director, Strategic Grain Reserve, Mr. Haruna Sule, congratulated the concessionaires who scaled through a thorough process selection, adding that the program will increase private sector participation in agriculture and attract investment into the sector.The Concessionaires comprise of the companies: Agro Universal Consortium, Matrixville Consortium, Flour Mills Limited, Ebony Agro Industries Limited, Neon Farms Africa Consortium, and Coscharis Farms Limited.
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