Checks by the B&FT have shown that a rice mill intended to make it easier to process locally grown rice in the Kumbungu region of the Northern Region has remained vacant for some time.
Residents claim that the mill has not been in operation for a very long time, which has had a negative impact on the area's rice output as well as the welfare of local farmers, who have been forced to sell their paddy at extremely cheap rates in order to pay off accumulating debt.
Renovating the mill, in the opinion of the locals, would not only guarantee smallholder farmers' access to sustainable rice production, but would also boost local economic activity and provide jobs.
In an interview with the B&FT, a local named Waliu Ibrahim expressed this perspective, claiming that women are the ones who are most negatively impacted by the mill's condition since they must travel great distances to get their rice processed.
"Our ladies must travel all the way to Botanga to purchase the paddy rice and transport it to Gumo, a Kumbungu neighbourhood, where it will be processed. In the meanwhile, if the mill was running, it would reduce their tension, he said.
The impact on the local economy would be immense, Mr. Ibrahim continued, if the government or the private sector took on the project and had it rebuilt.
He thinks such action will limit rice imports into the nation and boost the government's One District, One Factory strategy.
The district's primary industry is agriculture, which is primarily done on a seasonal and subsistence basis with a small number of people working in irrigated farming near the Botanga dam.
It makes up around 60% of the labour force in the area, which is indicative of the agrarian basis of its economy.
The district only has a little rice mill with a very modest capacity, despite the fact that it should have a larger machine to grind tonnes of rice.
Although Botanga is a well-known rice producer with an irrigation system in place to provide year-round rice production, lack of basic maintenance has sadly resulted in rot and other problems. He thinks such action will limit rice imports into the nation and boost the government's One District, One Factory strategy.
The district's primary industry is agriculture, which is primarily done on a seasonal and subsistence basis with a small number of people working in irrigated farming near the Botanga dam.
It makes up around 60% of the labour force in the area, which is indicative of the agrarian basis of its economy.
The district only has a little rice mill with a very modest capacity, despite the fact that it should have a larger machine to grind tonnes of rice.
Although Botanga is a well-known rice producer with an irrigation system in place to provide year-round rice production, lack of basic maintenance has sadly resulted in rot and other problems.
Questions concerning the cause of the facility's closure have been left unanswered despite attempts to contact Department of Agriculture officials in the district.
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