Our GMD’s speech at the recently commissioned fertilizer plant at Auchi

Protocols

We are pleased to welcome you today to the commissioning of the rehabilitated Edo State Fertilizer and Chemical Company Limited (ESFCCL), Auchi, Edo State.

The Fertilizer plant which was established over 14 years ago was abandoned and nearing full dilapidation, as previous Federal Government Policies favored the importation of Fertilizer. However, the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative of President Muhammadu Buhari launched in 2016 has made local fertilizer production viable and sustainable. The new Fertilizer Policy simply encouraged investors like us to identify and rehabilitate abandoned national treasures such as this plant.

Of course, it is the vision of His Excellency, the Governor of Edo State and the investor and Agribusiness-friendly policies of the Edo State Government that made this partnership with Edo State the success that it is today.

The abandoned Fertilizer plant as we knew it is gone. What we have now is an upgraded, state-of-the-art facility. This first phase has the capacity to blend over 60,000 metric tonnes of NPK fertilizer and is configured to handle both physical and compound fertilizer blending – one of the few with such capabilities in Nigeria.

As the Factory operations gather momentum, we will be creating about 500 direct and indirect jobs, 95% of which will be for Edo State indigenes.

Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, WACOT Group is strongly committed to the administration’s vision of attaining food self-sufficiency and economic prosperity through agriculture. And we have backed this commitment with action through continuous significant investments and interventions targeted at various agricultural value chains.

Your Excellency, Mr Vice President, less than a month ago, you honored us in Argungu by commissioning our rice mill. Today, you have obliged us in Auchi celebrating our partnership with Edo State.

As I speak to you now, we are setting up a sesame cleaning plant in Maigatari, Jigawa State, the largest soya oil mill in West Africa in Sagamu, Ogun State and the largest Sesame De-hulling Plant in West Africa in Ogba, Lagos State.

Your Excellencies and distinguished guests, our businesses focus on working closely with and supporting Nigerian Farmers, and most of our Factories are located in rural Nigeria. We are fully aligned with the administration agenda of economic diversification through inclusive growth.

On a final note, we would like to say a big thank you to Your Excellency, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, for honoring us once again.

We say a big thank you to the Governor of Edo State, our governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki and his government for making this partnership between Edo State and WACOT come to fruition for the benefit of all stakeholders. Your Excellencies, this Partnership with Edo State is just the beginning of WACOT’s investment plans for Edo  as we examine Billions of Naira worth of investments in Edo in the Food and Agribusiness sectors.

We also thank the Otaru of Auchi, the CEO of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, the President of FEPSAN, our financial partners and other dignitaries, who have supported us all through this journey.

Thank you very much.

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Our GMD’s Speech at the WACOT Rice Commssioning

Protocols and Salutations

We are extremely delighted to welcome each one of you today to the commissioning of our integrated rice mill at Argungu, Kebbi State.

The rice mill being the first to be conceived and constructed in this administration, is also the largest parboiled rice mill in Africa.

This state-of-the-art rice mill with a capital outlay of over =N= 10 Billion capable of processing over 120,000 metric tonnes of paddy per annum will create over 3,500 direct and indirect jobs. Your Excellencies, WACOT participates in the entire rice value chain, from seed multiplication and improving farming practices – to processing, branding and distribution. As we increase capacity, we will be off taking paddy from over 50,000 rice farmers.

Our business model focuses on sustainability and we believe that farmers are entrepreneurs. In our agricultural businesses globally, our supply chain is predominantly driven by out-grower farmers.

To ensure we achieve quality consistency in the supply of our raw materials, we invest in building the capacity of farmers through farmer business schools. We have trained over 5,000 small-holder rice farmers on good farming practices, financial management, production cost optimization and yield enhancement techniques. We also engage with the farmers through our demonstration farms – working closely with them from seed to yield.

We are sure that our investments will not only increase farmers’ incomes and livelihoods, but will also go a long way in meeting the Government’s goal of job creation through economic diversification.

We are strong believers in this administration’s vision of attaining food self-sufficiency. The impact of the interventions targeted at the numerous aspects of the agricultural value chain through institutions such as the Central Bank of Nigeria amongst others, has been invaluable. We believe that Nigeria can and should not only feed itself, but can also export its surplus production to other countries. It has been done before. And there is nothing stopping us from doing it again.

Therefore, for us this is just the beginning. We have plans to invest over =N= 100 billion over the next years in various agricultural value chains.

Vote of Thanks:

On a final note, we would like to say a big thank you to Your Excellency, the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the Governor of Kebbi State, our governor, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, the Governors of other states, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Sultan of Sokoto, the Emir of Gwandu, Our father, the Emir of Argungu, the people of Kebbi State, our financial partners and other dignitaries, who have supported us all through this journey.

We are grateful that you have joined us on this very special day.  For us, this is a source of encouragement to do more. And Your Excellencies, we assure you that we will do much more.

Thank you very much.