More About Otukpo Rice Mill in Otukpo, Benue State

Agriculture, Development, Stories 27/01/2026 by Ojotule Angela Omaji

The Otukpo Rice Mill is one of the most popular places in Otukpo town. Significant economic activities take place there (from rice paddy processing to milling and local rice production). The rice brought to the rice mill is grown in Otukpo and other parts of the Idoma land in Benue State.

This is how rice is locally produced in Otukpo rice mill:

1. The rice is first harvested from the farm, bagged and transported to the rice mill.
2. The rice is then washed and parboiled for 45 minutes using firewood (the time is dependent on the intensity of the heat from the fire). 
3. The parboiled rice is sundried for 2 days.
4. Immediately after the rice is sundried, it is then cooked for about 1 hour (Cooking time depends on the intensity of the heat).
5. The pots used for parboiling and cooking the rice come in different sizes.
   • The big pot is used for parboiling, while
   • The smaller size is used for cooking rice.
6. The cooked rice is also sundried for another two days. Otukpo rice mill depends solely on the sun for drying rice. Therefore, during the rainy seasons, drying of parboiled or cooked rice becomes a major challenge due to rainfall.
7. The rice is then taken into the rice mill. Within Otukpo rice mill, there are different privately owned rice milling factories, as the Otukpo local government-owned mill is currently non-functional.
8. The destoner (or de-stoner) and milling industrial machines are the two main machines.
   • The De-stonzer, as the name implies, is used to remove stones from the rice and crush the rice. While,
   • The milling machine is used to mill the rice and also to polish the rice.
   
   Note: If the rice is not reprocessed, the milling machine won’t be able to mill it.
9. After milling and polishing, the rice is ready for packaging and sales.
   
   • At the point of writing this piece, a bag of 75kg of rice costs Seventy-Five thousand naira (N75,000).
10. Traders come from all parts of Nigeria, Port Harcourt, Abuja, and many other states, to buy locally produced rice in the Otukpo rice mill. Otukpo rice mill rice is not only well produced but also passes the standard of foreign imported rice, which is imported into Nigeria.

FUN FACT

Rice is parboiled and cooked before milling, just like we parboil and cook rice before eating.