{"id":23600,"date":"2026-08-27T14:05:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T14:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/?p=23600"},"modified":"2026-08-27T14:30:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T14:30:02","slug":"lagos-hosts-training-for-rice-millers-regulators-on-fortified-rice-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/2026\/08\/27\/lagos-hosts-training-for-rice-millers-regulators-on-fortified-rice-production\/","title":{"rendered":"Lagos Hosts Training for Rice Millers, Regulators on Fortified Rice Production"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Lagos State Government has commenced a three day capacity building training for rice millers and regulatory agencies as part of efforts to scale up the production of fortified rice and improve nutrition among Nigerians.<\/p>\n

The training, which commenced on Thursday at the Lagos Rice Mill, Imota, brought together 25 rice millers from across the country as well as representatives of relevant regulatory agencies.<\/p>\n

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Speaking at the opening of the programme, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture and Food Systems, Dr. Oluwarotimi Fashola, said the training was an important step towards strengthening the rice value chain and ensuring that Nigerians have access to safe, quality and more nutritious rice.<\/p>\n

Fashola said the initiative was not merely about acquiring technical knowledge but about equipping industry players with the capacity to improve production practices, comply with regulatory requirements and enhance the nutritional value of rice.<\/p>\n

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He disclosed that the Lagos State Rice Company Limited had expanded its product portfolio with the introduction of Eko Fortified Rice, alongside its existing Eko Rice Farm Fresh and Eko Rice Classic brands.<\/p>\n

According to him, the fortified rice facility at the Imota mill was installed in December 2025 with the support of development partners, including TechnoServe, the World Food Programme, Partners in Food Solutions, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and DSM Firmenich.<\/p>\n

Fashola emphasised that the success of rice fortification required the collective efforts of government, millers, regulators, development partners, laboratories and other stakeholders across the value chain.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He urged participants to apply the knowledge gained from the training to their daily operations, stressing that improved practices, strict compliance and effective quality control were essential to producing safe and nutritious fortified rice.<\/p>\n

Also speaking, the Project Manager, Promoting Rice Fortification in Nigeria, Mr. Seun Elere, said rice fortification was aimed at restoring nutrients lost during conventional processing and adding essential micronutrients to help combat anaemia.<\/p>\n

Elere described the initiative as a deliberate government intervention to address nutritional and health challenges in the country.<\/p>\n

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The Deputy Director, Nutrition Department, Federal Ministry of Health, Pharmacist Orume Beatrice, described fortified rice as a public health intervention aimed at encouraging Nigerians to consume nutrient enriched rice.<\/p>\n

She noted that the initiative could contribute significantly to improving the health of vulnerable groups, particularly children and pregnant women who are more susceptible to anaemia.<\/p>\n

On her part, the Head, Food Codes Department of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Mrs. Obianwu Nene, said the agency was involved to ensure adherence to quality standards, codes of practice and processes that would guarantee consumer confidence and product safety.<\/p>\n

She stressed the importance of collaboration among regulatory agencies, millers and other stakeholders in maintaining the required standards in fortified rice production.<\/p>\n

The three day training is expected to strengthen the technical capacity of rice millers and regulatory personnel and contribute to the expansion of fortified rice production across Nigeria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Lagos State Government has commenced a three day capacity building training for rice millers and regulatory agencies as part<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23600"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23616,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23600\/revisions\/23616"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}