The Lagos Rice Mill at Imota has created over 2,000 jobs, empowered about 500 farmers and supported more than 1,500 hectares of paddy farmland, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said. The governor, who disclosed that the mill has a capacity of about 2.5 million 50-kilogram bags of rice a year, said the project is central to the state’s drive for food security. Sanwo-Olu spoke on Friday at the grand finale of the 2026 World Food Day celebration in Lagos.
He was represented by Obafemi Hamzat, his deputy, who is the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate for the 2027 election in the state. Speaking on the theme “Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow,” Sanwo-Olu said Lagos, as Nigeria’s smallest state by landmass with over 22 million people, cannot achieve food security by expanding farmland. “We cannot achieve food security by expanding farmland.
We achieve it by producing more on the land we have, sourcing efficiently from partner states, processing more of what we consume, and moving food from farm to household with less waste,” he said. He said that the state has pursued a resilient, inclusive and sustainable food system under its Five-Year Agricultural and Food Systems Roadmap, which targets an increase in food self-sufficiency from about 20 percent to 40 percent.
At the centre of the agenda is a three-tier market structure comprising the Lagos Central Food Security Systems and Logistics Hub, Mid-Level Agro-Produce Hubs, and last-mile distribution networks designed to cut intermediaries and food waste. Sanwo-Olu said Phase One of the Central Hub at Ketu-Ereyun, Epe, is at an advanced stage, while two Mid-Level Hubs at Abijo in Ibeju-Lekki and at Dairy Farm in Agege have been commissioned.
Construction is ongoing at Opebi in Ikeja and Bombata on Lagos Island, with more hubs planned across local governments.