The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has announced plans to provide modern rice milling machines to rice processing clusters in Kano State to improve productivity and the quality of locally processed rice.
The Kano State Manager of SMEDAN, Bashir Ja’afar-Aminu, disclosed this on Wednesday during a training programme for members of the Kura Rice Cluster.
The training, themed “Enhancing Clusters Competitiveness for Prosperity,” was organised to strengthen the capacity of rice processors and improve the competitiveness of the sector.
Ja’afar-Aminu said the intervention was designed to replace outdated milling equipment with modern technology capable of enhancing efficiency and product quality.
“We are going to support them with modern rice milling machines because we realised that they are still using old equipment.
“The intervention is aimed at moving them from obsolete machines to modern milling systems,” he said.
He added that SMEDAN would also incorporate solar-powered energy solutions into the intervention to address the challenges posed by the country’s energy supply.
According to him, the initiative is expected to improve productivity, reduce processing costs, and enhance the competitiveness of rice processors.
A member of the Kura Rice Cluster, Dr Abdulrashid Ibrahim-Baba, commended SMEDAN for organising the training.
He said the programme enlightened participants on product registration, processing techniques, and effective marketing strategies.
Ibrahim-Baba also stressed the importance of collaboration and partnerships among rice processing clusters to build sustainable and profitable businesses.
