Leading industrialist and President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote said the new initiatives of Dangote Group in the agricultural sector would have a major impact on the economy within a very short time.
Responding to media chat shortly after celebrating his 60th birthday with the closing gong of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), he said the group’s plan for the next three years “is to have 1.2 million tonnes of sugar, which we are importing now; taking out foreign exchange is not going to happen any more in the next three and half years.”
He assured that the group has the capacity to produce over one million tonnes of rice, which will be ready within one year.
Dangote said “We are doing a lot with the farmers. What we are doing today with farmers is to enrich them by giving them new seeds; they will be getting an average of seven to eight tonnes per hectare”.
Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Chief Executive Officer, NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, described Dangote as a corporate titan, an African pride, an important stakeholder in the Nigerian capital market, and a strong promoter of local content.
He noted that “We are here for a historic celebration of Alhaji Aliko Dangote. As you all know, Alhaji Dangote has listed four of his companies here with a total market capitalisation of N2.91tn as of today”.
Continuing, Onyema averred that the Exchange is celebrating him because of the person that he is, the values that he has, his humility, his simplicity and the way he has positively impacted millions of Nigerians.
