The West African Regional Rice Farmers Association (WACRFA) says it will partner with the Kebbi  State Government in efforts to increase rice production in three Francophone countries .
The President of the association, Mr Gbenov Pascal, who led a team of farmers from Niger, Benin Republic and Cote d’Ivoire on a visit to Nigeria, said this last Tuesday in Birnin Kebbi.
He said that the association would liaise with the state government in its plans to boost rice production in the West African sub-region.
“We are in Kebbi to liaise with the state government on how the officials from the sub-region can benefit from the success of rice farmers in the state,” he said.
Pascal said that Kebbi was widely known for rice production, not only in West Africa but also globally.
“This agricultural ingenuity which your people have is actually what prompted our coming here to acquire the techniques you adopted in agricultural production, especially rice,” he said.
According to him, the team will teach farmers in their countries on the techniques they have acquired in the state.
Pascal expressed delight that the team had observed with keen interest the turnout of youths at farmlands in the early hours of the morning.
In his remarks, the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Garba Dandiga, expressed the state government’s willingness to support farmers in the sub-region.
He also assured the association that the state government was always ready to partner with any African country in efforts to boost agricultural production, particularly rice production.