Prisons Service plans rice farming to feed inmates

The Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) said it will embark on rice production in Bagudo and Kaoje area of Kebbi State to reduce the burden of feeding the inmates by the Federal Government.

The Controller General of the Service, Ja’afaru Ahmed, said during a workshop in Birnin Kebbi that the amount being spent daily to feed the inmates in the various prisons in the country was huge.

He said, “Each inmate is being fed with N450 per day. This is huge considering the number of prisoners that we have in our prisons.”

He added that with the issue of rice production being aggressively pursued by the Federal Government, the Prisons Service had considered setting up a rice farm in Bagudo and Kaoje to produce rice in large quantities to feed the inmates and also contribute to the economic development of the country.

The NPS boss said, “We have 14 farm centres across the nation. We have another one which is about coming up in Zuru. In 2016 we purchased farm machineries and we would procure more in 2017. Our objective is to make sure the Prisons Service feeds itself.”