Ondo State has started taking steps towards becoming a major rice producing state in Nigeria.
Governor Olusegun Mimiko led some top government functionaries on inspection to a 10 hectare rice demonstration farm located in Ayede-Ogbese, a farming community in Akure North Local Government Area of the state.
According to reports, some officials of the State Ministry of Agriculture are also undergoing training by experts and technical partners from Malaysia on the cultivation processes.
Fielding questions from Newsmen after inspecting the plantation, Governor Mimiko revealed that modern best practices which will yield at least double of the traditional method are being applied, stating that these methods will also enable farmers to plant twice in one season.
He added that experts have started going to other parts of the state, especially the riverine areas to conduct soil test in order to identify other areas that rice could grow well.
The plantation is the pilot scheme of the State Rice Revolution, aimed at boosting and increasing revenue generation from the Agriculture sector in the State.