The Ogun Rice being bagged after harvest on Bello Zabarmawa’s farm. Photo by Idowu Otegbola, 6 Sept. 2024
Contrary to the general impression created in the mind of the public that the Ogun State Government has begun the sale of about 20,000 bags of rice “with the harvest of a 200-hectare rice farm at Magboro in Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area”, PMNEWS findings reveal that the said laudable project was not that of Ogun State Government but an initiative of a detribalized Nigerian businessman and farmer from Kebbi State who is currently a Senior Special Adviser to the Kebbi State Government, Alh Bello Zabarmawa.
News went viral in August that the Ogun State Government of Prince Dapo Abiodun had flagged off rice harvest from an initial cluster of 200 hectares of farmland.
“Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, kicked off the harvest and highlighted the state’s achievement of a milestone in becoming a rice-producing state.
“The Ogun State rice production effort is driven by the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project and supported by the World Bank to stimulate economic growth and development, according to a statement.
“Abiodun hailed the achievement of producing locally grown rice as placing Ogun State on par with other rice-producing states including Lagos, Kebbi, and Bayelsa, and a developmental step towards food security, creation of employment opportunities, and improving the livelihoods of residents within the state”, a national daily had reported.
Real owner of Ogun State rice project breaks silence, calls for govt assistance
The Ogun Rice being bagged after harvest on Bello Zabarmawa’s farm. Photo by Idowu Otegbola, 6 Sept. 2024
It quoted Abiodun as saying “Today, just three months later, we are already harvesting, making this a three-month cycle, which means we can do this three times a year.
“With an efficiency yield of about 70 per cent, the rice farm could result in approximately 20,000 bags of milled rice per cycle, valued at around N1bn and if replicated three times annually, the project could generate N3bn in revenue.
“In this place, I have 12,500 hectares of land, and all we have farmed is 200 hectares that yielded N1 billion for 200 farmers. From here, I can feed the rest of the country. We will scale up this project immediately from 200 to 2,000 hectares and generate N30bn in revenue.
“This brings us closer to making Ogun State the food basket of the nation.”
The governor stated further that the project was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s resolve to eradicate poverty and hunger by providing affordable food to Nigerians, adding that the project, apart from increasing rice production, would engender prosperity in animal husbandry.
He added that OGSTEP Agricultural Sector Intervention will provide critical support, including advanced agricultural techniques, access to quality seeds, modern irrigation systems, and technical training for farmers, adding that the approach is offered to beneficiaries at a 65 per cent discount on the cost for each mechanized operation.
That event raised the expectations of Ogun residents who started going from market to market looking for rice. They started sending enquiries to the media.
With the pressure unabated, PMNEWS decided to reach out to the Ogun State Government through the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Bolu Owotomo.
When he was not forthcoming after persistent phone calls, we searched elsewhere which led us to securing the contact of someone the sources regarded as “the man in charge”. The person ended up being Alh Bello Zabarmawa.
Alh Zabarmawa gave us a 10 am appointment on Friday 6 September. We got there by 9 am meeting no official yet on the large farmland except some labourers harvesting.
Real owner of Ogun State rice project breaks silence, calls for govt assistance
Alh Bello Zabarmawa (right) here explains a point to PMNEWS Isa Isawade (left) on his farm. In the middle is one of the young farmers Kanachika Daniel. Photo by Idowu Otegbola
About an hour later, some of his aides came to receive us. We engaged them in a fact-finding conversation while waiting for the boss to arrive. It was interesting to find that the farm does not belong to the Ogun State Government but Zabarmawa whose manager, Alh Haruna, started farming in the area in 2019.
According to Haruna, he got back to Kebbi and informed his boss of the availability of suitable soil for rice planting in Ogun State.
Zabarmawa visited and became enamoured of the land. He decided to cultivate a large portion and called on people around who needed employment opportunities, gave them money and mobilised logistics to begin rice farming.
“I’m the manager of the farm. We are in Ogun State for rice farming. I started rice farming about five years ago in 2019. When I started farming and discovered that the land was very good, I went to meet our oga, Alh Bello and I told him that we have a very good land hear. He said where, I said in Ogun State. He said he would come and see the place. That was how we started farming it together. The commissioner has come here twice. When the governor also came, he promised to support what we were doing. He even promised to do the Magboro Road down to Makogi. We are expecting that. Government cannot forget us.” Haruna said.
Real owner of Ogun State rice project breaks silence, calls for govt assistance
One of Zabarmawa’s harvesters at work on the farm
The Magboro community through their royal house willingly welcomed Zabarmawa and his young farmers, knowing full well that such a project would bring economic prosperity to their town.
Zabarmawa organized 200 farmers and gave those without capital a zero-interest loan to farm one hectare of rice each. They established large farms in Makogi and the Gas line.
He hired bulldozers to clear the land of trees, stumps and silts for all the farmers. When the challenge became daunting, he was advised to seek assistance from the Ogun State Government.
Zabarmawa got 220 hectares of land on lease at the sum N6million and then went to Young Service Grow for proper documentation to begin rice cultivation.
He was advised to be under an established name ‘Alubarika Farm’ to get him linked up with the Ogun government.
According to him, the Ogun State Government saw the nobility of the project and decided to support him with clearing of the farmland, supply of fertilizers and other logistics. In fulfilment of this, he said, the government paid 50% of the clearing expenses and 50% of fertilizer costs during planting.
But after that initial aid, Zabarmawa has been shouldering the farm’s capital and revenue expenditure.
Real owner of Ogun State rice project breaks silence, calls for govt assistance
Bulldozer at work on the farm. Photo by Idowu Otegbola
One of the farmers who said he met Alh Zabarmawa when he came to buy solar panels in his shop for the farm, Kanachika Daniel, said that he paid 65% of the initial costs while the government supported him with 35%.
Secretary of the Albarika rice farmers, Alh Yusuf Sulaiman also spoke with PMNEWS. He said their Chairman, Alh Bello Zabarmawa was the one providing the needed funds for the rice farmers.
He added that the Ogun State Governor and Commissioner for Agric visited the farms to see what the farmers were doing and promised to assist them.
He urged the government to fulfil its promises, adding that the association was ready to intensify farming and teach interested youths how to farm successfully.
Real owner of Ogun State rice project breaks silence, calls for govt assistance
Magboro rice farm Manager Alh Haruna, leading PMNEWS Journalists Isa Isawade and Adejoke Adeleye to inspect a newly ploughed portion of the farmland. Photo by Idowu Otegbola
Abu Garba is another farmer who was a Bureau de Change operator. According to him, he dropped the trade for farming, saying farming is better.
He lauded Zabarmawa’s large-heartedness and philanthropic inclination. He said Bello gave him N5m to start the rice farming at Magboro. He added that he had harvested 500 bags of rice so far.
The unassuming Alh Bello Zabarmawa hesitated when he was approached to speak. He’s said to enjoy a quiet life. He, however, yielded after being convinced that he needed to clarify issues.
He said: “When I started, the Ogun State Government promised and paid 50% of the clearing cost why I paid the balance,” adding that the government paid half of the fertilizer cost.
“That time I was buying a bag of fertilizer for N45,000, I paid N23,000, government paid the remaining N22,000.
“I cannot forget the support government gave me at the time because if you are doing something and government gets interested and supports you, it’s a great achievement.
“There was a time I wanted to harvest, the governor himself came here. The Commissioner has been here twice. It was the governor who flagged off the harvest. I was very happy that day.
“But, I still need government support.
“I’m calling on the State Government and the Federal Government to put hands together to move this country forward.
“I’ve brought in more people to farm here. I spend money to clear the land. I have a plan to clear 1,000 hectares. I’m calling for government support. I’ve brought in three bulldozers now. I’m the only one paying for now. I paid N600,000 to bring the bulldozers to the farm and I pay N400,000 labour on each of them every day.
“I have given loans to about 60 farmers ranging from N4m to N10m to farm here. So I want more support from the government so that we can meaningfully engage our youths who don’t have work to do. I have work for them here. Those I assisted have become millionaires.
“So, if the government really comes in now, the farm would feed all our people. They don’t have to buy rice from outside again,” he explained.
Why does Zabarmawa lend interest-free money to farmers with all the risks involved, what’s the motivation?
He explained: “Since my childhood, I don’t like people suffering. Even my siblings know that anything I have, I like to share with people around me. And when I started farming here, any time anybody came to my house saying ‘I am hungry’, I would say go and carry one bag of rice there. They all know me for that. It got to a time when I decided to fund people to farm so they can get work to do.”
Real owner of Ogun State rice project breaks silence, calls for govt assistance
From left: Kanachika Daniel; Secretary of the rice farmers, Alh Sulaiman; Alh Bello Zabarmawa; the farm’s manager, Alh Haruna and representatives of the Magboro landowners
Are there challenges facing the Magboro rice farmers? Zabarmawa and his team answered in the affirmative.
Haruna said, “We are facing so many challenges here. We are facing water problem, our rice is drying off due to lack of rain. And again, birds are disturbing us. We need help in that regard too. We need bulldozers to clear the rest of the farms, we need harvesters so we can expand our farms. Alhamdullah, we thank Alh Bello for the great support he has been giving farmers here.”
When asked about the kind of assistance needed to stave off the birds, he said: “There are many ways the government can help to stop the birds. There is a chemical that repels the birds. We cannot buy it by ourselves but government can get it through other countries. There is one chemical I saw about three months ago, 5 litre is about N700,000 and it can’t last you more than two to three days,” adding that helicopters or drones are used to spread the chemical.
Daniel also confirmed that the farmers were faced with daunting challenges. He appealed to the government to assist in the area of providing solar energy in the farm for irrigation, adding that the scarcity of rain experienced in the last two months adversely affected their produce.
He also asked the government to assist in stopping the parasitic birds and fulfil its promise to reconstruct the 8.17 km Magboro-Makogi Road.
The governor had, at the harvest flag-off event, said: “I am glad that today, I had the opportunity to drive on this road myself. I have seen the condition of the road; but beyond the condition, I have seen how densely populated this area is. I also appreciate the impact this road will have on our farmland.
“So today, I know that I am a promise-keeping governor. I only talk and do; I don’t talk without doing. I am going to immediately award the contract for the reconstruction of this road.”
Zabarmawa also confirmed the challenges of birds, difficulty in energy supply for irrigation, lack of good access roads to the farms and lack of sufficient chemical to kill grasses.
“The grasses grow rapidly because it’s a virgin land. We need to kill the grasses as they grow. We don’t even need fertilizer for now because it’s a virgin land,” he maintained.
On the challenge of birds, he said: “I would like the government to help clear the forest around where the birds are hiding.”
