The Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems, has called for stronger partnerships with relevant stakeholders to ensure the provision of nutritious food for the young population to support healthy growth and development.
The state also reaffirmed its commitment to standards, quality and safety requirements for consumer products in Lagos and across the country.
The call was made in Lagos during a three-day training workshop on fortified rice production organised for rice millers and regulatory agencies from the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
Rice fortification is the process of adding essential vitamins and minerals to regular polished rice to address micronutrient deficiencies among populations that rely on rice as a primary staple.
The fortified rice facility at the Lagos Rice Mill was installed in December 2025.
Speaking at the Lagos Rice Mill, Imota, venue of the opening ceremony, the Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Agriculture and Food Systems, Dr Oluwarotimi Fashola, said the capacity-building programme was aimed at creating a pathway towards large-scale fortified rice production while strengthening technical expertise among stakeholders.
Fashola stressed the importance of feeding the growing population with meals that contained nutritional value to support healthy growth, noting that consumption of fortified rice was one of the ways this could be achieved.
The special adviser emphasised that collective responsibility among relevant stakeholders, including millers and regulatory agencies, would enhance efforts to achieve consistent production of fortified rice to the highest standards.
READ ALSO: Lagos State Partners Stakeholders to Increase Fortified Rice Production
“Rice fortification has to do with reaching the populace with the basic minerals and vitamins that are essential for their wellbeing, particularly younger ones, from toddlers to teenagers, to the growing population, which Nigeria generally has a lot. So, in terms of reach, it is something that is just coming up and we need to promote and encourage its consumption and knowledge. We are fortifying the rice with folic acid, iron, vitamin B components among others and you know these are the essentials that you do not get in most meals.” Fashola said.
Milling machines
Fashola stated that Lagos State remained the only state in Southern Nigeria with such a facility.
“We have about 25 millers from all over the country and most of them still do not have a blending plant and I think it is about just two that have a blending plant. So, this training is like an advocacy for them because what the Federal Minister of Health wants is that all millers should have a plant and should be able to push the rice fortification to the market. So it is convenient for them to come here to see the plants, understand how the machine works, see the product, the unfortified, the fortified, and the kernels.” he stressed.
Boarding schools
Fashola also disclosed that the first set of fortified rice to be produced in Lagos would cater to secondary schools with boarding facilities in the state.
“Most of what we will be producing will go to our secondary schools that have boarding infrastructure, because these teenage groups are growing and fortified rice with nutritional value will help in brain formation.” Fashola explained.
Health benefits
In his remarks, the Project Manager, Rice Fortification in Nigeria, Mr Seun Elere, identified the health benefits of consuming fortified rice.
Elere explained that rice fortification was designed to restore nutrients lost during the conventional processing of common rice, while the addition of essential micronutrients could help combat anaemia.
“The initiative is a deliberate government intervention to address nutritional and health challenges in the country.” Elere stressed.
Compliance level
Stakeholders at the event, including officials of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, said standards played a pivotal role in rice fortification and the establishment of food products in Nigeria.
They stressed the need for compliance with Nigeria’s code of practice and proper regulation in line with international best practices.
The stakeholders expressed optimism that the training would translate into improved operational practices, strict compliance, robust quality control, and safer and more nutritious rice for consumers.
The primary method of fortification begins with broken rice grains being ground into flour, mixed with a dry vitamin and mineral blend, and shaped through an extruder into rice-like grains.
These “fortified rice kernels” are then mixed with normal white rice at a typical ratio of 1:50 to 1:100.
