A Nigerian agro-based company, A.R.N Foods Limited, has partnered with AGI Milltec, a manufacturing multinational, to build a rice mill in Epe, Lagos State.
A.R.N Foods’ Chairman, Nola Adetola, signed a contract with AGI Milltec for the construction of the rice mill with a production capacity of 8TPH on Friday, in Lagos.
The rice mill signifies A.R.N Foods’ venture into food processing and displays its commitment to excellence, sustainability, and food safety, according to the company.
Adetola described the partnership as a step in solving Nigeria’s food problem.
He said, “We did not want to just produce rice for one year or two; we wanted something that would stay.
“We went with a company that had a history of doing it before, and we wanted to grow with them. We went with Milltec to grow with them.”
The A.R.N Foods board chairman said the partnership with AGI Milltec was driven by a desire beyond making money to make an impact, including creating jobs.
“We imagined the number of people that will be working in this factory when it is done, directly and indirectly.
“We imagined the amount of unemployment that we would be solving and what we would be contributing to the Nigerian economy,” he added.
Two years into its rebranding as a food processing company, A.R.N Foods supplied commodities across different staple foods, including paddy rice, maize, soybeans, and sorghum, according to its Chief Operating Officer, Muhuydeen Giwa.
Giwa described the firm as an integrated trading and processing company keen on providing quality and affordable agro-products.
He explained that both companies entered their agreement to expand and be able to solve food insufficiency.
“You realise that it’s not that the rice mill has not been in existence, but because we are partnering with AGI Milltec, we believe that we will be able to reduce our costs, enhance the quality, and provide accessibility of this process, product, all year round,” Giwa added.
Head of Africa Region of AGI Milltech, Emmanuel del Pozzo, said the manufacturing company brings expertise and quality that Nigerians are familiar with in foreign rice.
Del Pozzo said the company would work closely with the Cremona construction company, whose MD, Guido Firetti, promised to provide AGI Milltec with technical support for their projects in Nigeria.
Firetti said the rice mill project is laudable, and his company would contribute to the timeliness and delivery.
According to the Business Development Manager for AGI Milltec in Nigeria, Vincent Matthews, the proposed Epe Rice mill is specifically designed for the Nigerian paddy varieties.
Matthews said, “We already know the benchmark quality that Mr Nola is looking for. This plant is going to be able to, I should say, achieve the quality levels that he is expecting.”
“And Mr. Nola has a vision that he wants to be able to export in the future. So, this plant should be able to capture both of them together.”
