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Adebayo Ajibabi,
Head of Department of Agriculture in Badagry Local Government, on
Friday said that rice farmers in the area had abandoned the farms owing
to low productivity.

Mr Ajibabi told the
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Badagry on Friday that the farmers, who
embraced commercial rice farming in 2008, had since left the farms.

He said that the government introduced the commercial farming project in 2008 to boost rice production in the state.

“Lagos State
government acquired acres of farmland in Toga area of Badagry to boost
rice farming,” he said. Mr Ajibabi said he assisted the state
government to recruit about 1,000 rice farmers during the period. He
added that the state government gave them rice, land and some other
incentives to boost rice production, “but government did not keep to
other promises made to the farmers”.

Mr Ajibabi said the farmers, who initially engaged in lowland rice farming, had since taken to other ventures, like fishing.

NAN recalls that
the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria had recently accused the
Nigeria Customs Service of killing local rice production through its
failure to check unbridled importation of the commodity.

The customs service has denied the accusation.