Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN) says it remains unwaveringly committed to local content development for the attainment of food self-sufficiency in Nigeria and progressively across the continent of Africa,
The FMN Group said in a statement that its ‘Feeding the Nation Every Day’ agenda remains central to its 65-year strategy of reducing dependence on imported raw materials.
According to the statement, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the company, Boye Olusanya, stated that the company has become “more than a company to Nigeria but also a strong ally in growth and development.”
He restated the company’s commitment to driving food security in Nigeria and sustaining local content development through investments in agriculture and agro-allied industries.
“For over six decades, the Group has been a source of livelihood for millions of Nigerian families by providing both direct and indirect employment. And more than any other business in the country, we have guarded our national heritage with trust, ensuring that our activities are sustainable for the country, the environment, and most importantly, for the people,” he said.
He noted that the company’s agricultural journey began in 1978 with the acquisition of a 10,000-hectare farm in Kaboji, Niger State, as part of an expansion strategy to boost the sugar supply chain and reduce reliance on imports.
He added that since then, the company had invested in the cultivation of soya beans, palm fruits, cassava, wheat, maize, sugarcane, and sorghum, as well as the aggregation and distribution of locally sourced grains.
According to the statement, the company’s transformative outgrower programme and agronomy support systems have empowered more than 400,000 farmers across the country by providing inputs, training and market access.
It added that these farmers supply raw materials for the production of its food brands, including Golden Penny Foods.
The company disclosed that through Golden Agri Inputs Limited, a subsidiary of FMN Agro Ltd, it had developed farming schemes for over 50,000 Nigerian farmers.
It explained that the schemes provided high-yielding hybrid varieties, advanced agronomy practices, storage solutions, and guaranteed markets for crops such as maize, sorghum, cassava, wheat, soya bean, and palm kernel.
GIK/APA