…Many feared sick
IT is no longer news that a particular brand of rice not meant to be eaten but planted during this planting season is now being parboiled and sold to unsuspecting consumers in the state.
247ureports.com gathered that bags of rice numbering over 500 which was distributed to council areas since last month under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda of the Federal government – the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme, GES, to enable farms at the rural level get more yield, had been marred by reported cases of diversion of bags of rice allegedly by some Chairmen/ former Coordinators of Development centres in the state.
The case in Ebonyi assumed a worrisome condition, as some Council Chairmen and former Coordinators of Development Centre decided to divert these bags of treated rice after distributing few bags to unsuspecting farmers in their areas.
It was learnt that these remaining bags of rice which was not distributed to farms were taken to Ebonyi State Rice Mill for parboiling and subsequently sold to consumers who are not aware of its nature and probable health consequences it eaten.
This development has led to the arrest of some dubious persons involved in such misdemeanour in a bid to earn living; what is however not yet known is the number of Ebonyians who had bought and eaten the treated rice since last month.
It is feared that such chemically treated rice could led to cancer among other terminal diseases if no urgent steps are taken by the state government through the Ministry of Agriculture to look into these anomalies that are capable of destabilizing the health state of innocent rice consumers in the state.
