Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Sen. Olanrewaju Tejuoso, on Thursday, December 7, 2017 said the Basic Health Provision Fund provided under National Health Act 2014 would generate about N54 billion for health intervention programmes.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Sen. Olanrewaju Tejuoso
The senator made this known during an advocacy meeting with Legislative Network for Universal Health Coverage in Abuja.
Tejuoso said one of the major concerns of the National Assembly was the implementation of one per cent consolidated revenue to fund basic health care provision fund in 2018 budget.
He added that the Act provides that one per cent consolidated revenue should be a statutory transfer the agencies; meaning that the fund would not be accessed the way the budget was usually done.
He said: “It means the fund will go into particular pockets as grant to provide basic healthcare to Nigerians.
“It is supposed to be a minimum of one per cent of consolidated revenue to support the funding coming from partners; part of that money will, however, not go into the fight against malaria.”
He said the money would be domiciled with the agencies and if unspent, it would be extended to the following year, stressing that the fund would be accruing and accumulating.
He added that while government was waiting for loans to fund the budget, the money would be available to support the health system.
Dr Gafar Alawode, the Chief of Party Health Finance and Governance, an NGO, said the Legislative Network for Universal Health Coverage was on advocacy visit to the senate committee chairman to seek for funding for malaria elimination programmes.
He commended government’s commitment in reducing malaria burden in the country over the years, noting that evidence had shown that malaria cases dropped from 42 per cent in 2010 to 27 per cent in 2015.
He, however, said “malaria cases were currently on the increase again.”
He noted that World Health Organisation records revealed that in 2017, Nigeria had one million new cases of malaria, which was above recorded cases in 2016.
He said “this calls for concern because donors funding has been dwindling.
“Donors are shifting focus to counterpart-based funding; they are showing commitment to countries that are ready to increase domestic funding of malaria elimination programmes.”
He added that the group wanted Senate to lead the cause for increased funding for malaria programmes because Nigeria was one of the countries with highest burden of the disease in the world.
The Federal Government says programmes of Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADev Nigeria) Nigeria have contributed significantly to its efforts to implement the Minimata Convention on mercury phase-out.
L-R: Executive Director of Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADev), Leslie Adogame; Chairman of the occasion and representative of the Minister of Environment, Olubunmi Okusanya; SRADev Technical Director, Prof. Babajide Alo; and Anthony Hotton of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) at the National Dissemination Workshop on Mercury Products Projects in Nigeria facilitated by SRADev in Lagos on Thursday, December 7, 2017
Ibrahim Jibril, Environment Minister of State, disclosed this exclusively to EnviroNews on Thursday, December 7, 2017 at the final National Dissemination Workshop organised by SRADev in Lagos.
Represented by Olubunmi Olusanya, the minister said contributions from SRADev’s sensitisation programmes formed part of the ministry’s submissions on the phase out/phase down of mercury in products.
Since April 2015, SRADev had embarked on the project “Contributing to the Preparation/Implementation of the Minimata Convention on Mercury, with a Focus on Developing Strategies to Implement Mercury-added Product Phase-out Provisions of the Minimata Convention in Nigeria”. It targeted a deadline of May 2017, but had to extend it to December.
In his opening remarks, Okusanya, who was chairman of the occasion, noted that the “Minamata Convention is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury pollution, and Article 4 of the convention deals with mercury-added products.”
Nigeria signed the Convention in 2013 and made efforts to ratify it in May 2017.
He noted that the ratification was “to ensure that our country does not end up as a dumping ground for mercury-added products after the rest of the world phases them out.”
According to Prof. Babajide Alo, the technical adviser to SRADev, Nigeria has signed the document and sent to New York.
The professor of Chemistry, while congratulating Nigeria for efforts so far to ratify the Convention, noted that “we have the Minimata Initial Assessment (MIA), but its implementation is why we are here.”
Going down memory lane, the don said 195 countries had come together and agreed that mercury is a pollutant of concern; hence they agreed to do something about it which led to the convention at Minimata, a village in Japan where people were dying of mercury poisoning.
Article 4 of the Convention read in part: “Each Party shall not allow, by taking appropriate measures, the manufacture, import or export of mercury-added products listed in Part I of Annex A after the phase-out date specified for those products (Year 2020), except where an exclusion is specified in Annex A or the Party has a registered exemption pursuant to Article 6. 2.”
Rico Euripidou, a South African international expert in mercury phase out/phase down, presented the keynote paper of the workshop. He made his presentation through Skype to the audience, as he could not make it to Nigeria before the workshop.
In his “Overview of the Mercury Convention: Expectations from Mercury-added Products phase-out Obligations”, Mr. Euripidou praised Nigeria for strategies adopted to achieve the phase-out, and encouraged the country to continue on that path.
He said: “We have been following the project in Nigeria. Nigeria has made a lot of progress with its sound strategies. We are very pleased. This convention represents a major milestone. This is only the beginning of the beginning.”
The executive director of SRAdev, Leslie Adogame, in his welcome speech, said SRADev was just complementing government’s efforts via helping to develop strategy to achieve the phase-out.
He disclosed that his organisation’s works had the backing of the Federal Government through the Ministry of Environment, the National Agency for Food and drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other agencies as well as the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
In a goodwill message, Anthony Hotton from NAFDAC said the agency, which was at the vanguard of the zero-mercury journey, “is still 100 per cent interested in the campaign.”
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), through its Lagos State coordinator, Nosa Aigbedion, said the agency “is happy and ready to partner with anybody for a healthy environment.”
The workshop was wrapped up by status/updates of mercury-added products regulations in Nigeria by NESREA and NAFDAC.
African presidents have reached a consensus to focus on regional integration, inclusive growth and youth empowerment in order to achieve continued and sustained growth on the continent at the Africa 2017 Forum in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, President of Egypt
President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, hosted African heads of state and business leaders including President of the Republic of Guinea Alpha Condé, President of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Côte D’Ivoire Alassane Ouattara, and President of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.
The business and investment forum, titled “Driving investment for inclusive growth”, was convened to increase intra-African investments and cross-border collaboration. The message sent was that entrepreneurship and private sector would be the driving force to transform the continent. The forum was preceded by a Young Entrepreneurs Day, which brought together over 200 young African entrepreneurs who were meeting investors to pitch their businesses over the two days of the forum. Al Sisi highlighted the importance of African youth, saying they should be the cornerstone of development plans in the continent as governments strive to promote innovation and technology.
The second edition of the forum appeared to be another clear statement of intent from the Egyptian President, who, in his opening remarks, highlighted the strong bond Egypt has with the rest of the continent, saying it has always been a partner in African development. Putting Africa on the global map and paving the way for a prosperous future can be achieved by working harder to attract investment and collaborating more closely, he added.
President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, co-chair of the Young Entrepreneurs Day, reiterated the need for more urgency: “We cannot afford to waste opportunities because of unnecessary red tape and associated delays,” declared.
Citing the launch of the Tripartite Free Trade Area in Egypt in 2015, he added that it was important that African leaders drive the institutional reform of the African Union in order to get the FTA fully operational.
Heba Salama, Director of the COMESA Regional Investment Agency, co-conveners of the forum, in an emotional address reminded the young and the leaders in the room that “if your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough”.
This did not go unheeded by the entrepreneurs in the room many of whom had scaled up businesses that were ripe for take off.
Africa 2017 Forum held under the patronage of Abdel Fattah Al Sisi from December 7 to 9, 2017 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, and was organised by the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation of Egypt and the COMESA Regional Investment Agency (RIA).
The 2017 edition builds on the success of the inaugural Africa 2016, which saw participation of six Heads of State and over 1,000 delegates from 45 countries.
The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) on Friday, December 8, 2017 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) on collaboration of ensuring safe practice of modern biotechnology.
Director General/CEO of NBMA, Dr. Rufus Ebegba
Director General/CEO of NBMA, Dr. Rufus Ebegba, while addressing the team from the SON underscored the need for government agencies to work together to serve the people better.
He said NBMA is established to ensure that the practice of modern biotechnology that results in genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is safe to both human and the environment.
The DG said, “Risk assessment is a pillar of the agency. NBMA is interested in the gene of insert. It ensures that genetically modified organisms are well assessed to ascertain that there is no risk to the people or the environment before they are released into the environment.”
Director General of SON, Osita Anthony Aboloma, who was represented by Director of Legal Services, Umaru Kawu, expressed happiness over the memorandum and stated that SON is ready to partner with NBMA to actualise its mandate.
He also stressed the need for government agencies to synergise, and to facilitate the set goals of government. “It is good that NBMA has signed MoU with other major government agencies that will contribute to the effectiveness of its mandate.’’
The MoU is said to be the fifth signed by NBMA with sister agencies in the bid to ensure that genetically modified products are safely deployed for the benefit of Nigerians.
Different low carbon technologies from wind or solar energy to fossil carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) differ greatly when it comes to indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in their life cycle.
Solar panels
This is the result of a comprehensive new study conducted by an international team of scientists that is now published in the journal Nature Energy. Unlike what some critics argue, the researchers not only found that wind and solar energy belong to the more favorable when it comes to life-cycle emissions. They also show that a full decarbonisation of the global power sector by scaling up these technologies would induce only modest indirect greenhouse gas emissions – and hence not impede the transformation towards a climate-friendly power system.
“Both fossil and non-fossil power technologies still come with a certain amount of greenhouse gas emissions within their life cycle – on the one hand because it needs energy to construct and operate them, on the other hand because of methane emissions, e.g. from coal and gas production,” explains lead author, Michaja Pehl. “However, we found there are substantial differences across technologies regarding their greenhouse gas balance. Electricity production from biomass, coal, gas and hydropower for instance induces much higher indirect greenhouse gas emissions than nuclear electricity, or wind and solar-based power supply.”
With their study the researchers provide an innovative and comprehensive global analysis of embodied energy use and indirect greenhouse gas emissions – from all relevant power sector technologies. For the first time, their study combines the strengths of simulations based on integrated energy-economy-climate models that estimate cost-optimal long-term strategies to meet climate targets with life cycle assessment approaches.
So far, these research branches have operated separately. Exploring the life cycle emissions of future low-carbon supply systems and the implications for technology choices, they found that fossil power plants equipped with CCS will still account for life-cycle emissions of around 100 grams of CO2-equivalents per kWh of electricity produced, ten times more than the around 10 grams of CO2-equivalents for wind and solar power they project for 2050 in a climate protection scenario in which power production is almost completely decarbonised.
Wind and solar provide a much better greenhouse gas emissions balance than fossil-based technologies
“There is no such thing as truly clean coal. Conventional coal power currently comes with around 1000 grams of CO2-equivalents per kWh. Capturing CO2 from coal plants can reduce emissions per kWh by around 90 percent, but substantial life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions remain,” says Gunnar Luderer, energy system analyst from PIK and project leader. “To keep global warming below 2°C, however, virtually carbon free electricity is necessary. This makes it increasingly implausible that coal power will play a major role in the future, even if equipped with CO2scrubbers.”
“When it comes to life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, wind and solar energy provide a much better greenhouse gas balance than fossil-based low carbon technologies, because they do not require additional energy for the production and transport of fuels, and the technologies themselves can be produced to a large extend with decarbonised electricity,” states Edgar Hertwich, an industrial ecologist from Yale University who co-authored the study. Due to technological innovation, less and less energy will be needed to produce wind turbines and solar photovoltaic systems.
“Some critics have argued renewable energies could come with high hidden greenhouse gas emissions that would negate their benefits to the climate. Our study now shows that the opposite is true,” concludes Luderer. “During the transition to clean power supply, the additional life-cycle emissions for building up wind and solar capacities are much smaller than the remaining emissions from existing fossil power plants before they can finally be decommissioned. The faster the low-carbon transformation of power supply is accomplished, the lower is the overall remaining carbon burden for the climate.”
The forthcoming Integrated Landscape Management to Enhance Food Security and Ecosystem Resilience in Nigeria Project has been identified for being consistent with the Federal Government’s current agricultural programme to ensure food security.
Participants at the meeting
Making this known in his presentation titled: “Integrated Landscape Management to Enhance Food Security and Ecosystem Resilience in Nigeria” at a pre-inception meeting with stakeholders for the project held Thursday, December 7, 2017 at the Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN) Conference Hall in Kano, Kano State, climatologist and lead consultant to the project, Prof. Emmanuel Oladipo, stated that the project is consistent with what the Federal Government is already geared towards in developing agriculture.
He maintained that there is really no need to import food for the country once agricultural potentials are tapped, a goal of the food security and ecosystem resilience project.
According to Prof. Oladipo, the scheme is poised to enhance productivity and promote sustainability and Resilience of Nigeria’s agricultural production systems for improved national food security in the face of dwindling oil revenues in the country and beyond.
In his remarks, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Focal Person on Environment, Mr Muyiwa Odele, stated that the importance of the project cannot be overemphasised as, according to him, it is rooted in the national priority of the Federal Government.
“There is no better time to start talking of food security than now considering the decline in oil prices worldwide and many countries are now phasing out dependence on oil.
“The population of the country is increasing, therefore, we hope to strengthen the food chain system in the country against climate change as well as work with both the state and federal levels in eventually feeding the country and beyond conveniently,” he added.
Also speaking, Deputy Director, Agriculture Mechanisation, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Abdullahi Abubakar, assured that the project has come to stay and they will do every thing possible to sustain it.
Stressing further, Abubakar, an engineer, noted that women would greatly benefit from the project as they are deeply involved in agricultural processing which is a target.
In her remarks, Founder and Executive Director, WOFAN, Hajia Salamatu Garuba, who extolled the project for being gender-sensitive, stated that it would make it a reality for women to come together and use agriculture as a livelihood.
Hajia, who stated that nutrition and adaptation to climate change are big components of the project, expressed the hope that it would groom a lot of youth and women by attracting them to agriculture as a source of livelihood and discourage rural to city influx.
The meeting was the first in a two-day workshop of the Local Project Appraisal Committee (LPAC) inception meeting toward ensuring Resilience for Food Security in the Savanna Zones of Northern Nigeria.
The five-year project, which is expected to kick-off in 2018 in the seven states of Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Gombe, Adamawa, Nasarawa and Benue which already have existing programmes on food security, will have selected project sites in 70 communities of 13 LGAs of Dutsima, Musawa, Kabo, Gwarzo, Jahun, Katungo, Balanga, Yola South, Fufore, Akwanga, Kokona, Otukpo and Ukum respectively, in reflection of the three major agro-ecologies of the northern part of the country’s Savannah Zones.
The project is supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN), the Federal Ministry of Environment (FMoE) and Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMoARD).
The Federal Government has been advised to allocate more resources and ensure its timely release to enable Nigeria benefit from the 24th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) scheduled to hold next year in Poland.
Participants at the Post-COP23 meeting in Abuja
The sentiment was expressed at a Post-COP23 meeting held on Monday, December 4, 2017 in Abuja.
This is even as findings by EnviroNews have revealed that lack of resource appeared to make the 2017 COP23 participants from Nigeria to somewhat lack in coordination.
Participants at the review meeting of the 2017 COP23 comprising civil society organisations (CSOs), Labour and other experts in the environment sector are of the view that Nigeria needs to do more in terms of preparation for such a global gathering.
Speaking with EnviroNews, an environment expert, Prof. Emmanuel Oladipo, said: “The government has to find a way by which resources allocated to the COP will be made available in time.
“Latest by the month of August next year these resources should be made available to the Department of Climate Change so that they can use to coordinate to ensure whoever is supposed to be there, is there in time.
“Nigeria participated effectively (at COP23 in Bonn, Germany), what happened was that because of certain constraints, all of us could not go at the same time and stay for the whole two weeks there. So that could not bring out the type of synergy that could been very ideal.
“However, the lesson from that is that we need to be more prepared; secondly, do a lot more within the country to determine what we need to do and how we should do them to ensure that we contribute maximally to the global effort at reducing climate change.”
Prof. Oladipo explained that the COP23 was to gear up nations into agreeing on the path that they need to take to ensure effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Speaking, the Project Manager, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), Henry Okotie, the convener of the day-long gathering, said that meeting was to review the recently completed COP23 and to share experiences.
He said: “You know before now, we had a pre-COP meeting for Nigerian participants, particularly from the CSOs and Labour, which are our core partners.
“After the COP meeting, we just wanted to look whether the aim of actually going to the COP by the Nigerian state is achieved and what were the presentations there, basically to evaluate the COP meeting, especially that it was hosted by the country where it all began – Germany.
“The meeting is to also share experience and probably improve on how to move forward. Again, to also articulate the various experiences and input that we got from COP23 so that it could be an input for government and policy and decision makers to be able to take into cognisance the role of the CSOs in climate change issues.”
While applauding the government of Nigeria for doing its best on the climate change adaptation, Okotie however, said that the government and other stakeholders need to continue to partner so that the issues of climate change will be taken seriously considering that it has become a global issue.
“Well, whether you are prepared for climate change or not, it is a natural phenomenon but the issue is how prepared are you to adapt to whatever the effect of climate change and most importantly, to mitigate the situation before it gets out of hand.
“That is the essence of the COP meeting, to look into how this climate change can properly save humanity, save jobs and provide better environment and all of that. It could happen anytime, that is why it is necessary that one is prepared for it,” he said.
On her part, the focal point on Climate Change of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Hauwa Mustapha, called on the government to take proactive measures to ensure that Just Transition is taken seriously for protect workers from being displaced due to the effects of climate change.
“Just Transition is an initiative of the international labour and the whole thing is about the realisation of the fact that climate change is real and the reality of climate is that a lot of traditional things we are used to will definitely change including jobs, particularly, in this era that we are in support of the campaign in keeping fossils in the ground where we begin to look for alternative to fossil fuel, alternative mode of production, greener economy,” she said.
Hauwa further explained that Just Transition is recognising that there is going to be a move to wards a greener economy and that workers need to be re-skilled psychologically, mentally and physically towards the newer jobs.
Responding to a question on whether there is danger ahead if the government fails to take the issue of climate change seriously considering its effect, Hauwa said: “Yes, if the government delays or does not take the appropriate action at the appropriate time, there is going to be industrial conflict because you will find situations where the right policy is not being developed and implemented and that programmes are not adequately put in place to cater for workers in that process.
“Beyond industrial crisis, it is also going to led to social crisis because there will be increase in poverty due to lack of conscious preparation to absorb the shock in the economy. Poverty, you know, can also lead to other social ills.
“These are some of the things we envisage if the government does not take appropriate actions at the appropriate time.”
The Federal Government of Nigeria seems to have more work to do in the area of provision of electricity. No thanks to fresh revelations from the World Bank that over 80 million Nigerians have no access to electricity.
Rachid Benmessaoud, World Bank Country Director in Nigeria
World Bank Country Director in Nigeria, Mr. Rachid Benmessaoud, disclosed this on Tuesday, December 5, 2017 in Abuja at the 4th Action Learning Event on Upscalling Mini Grids for low-cost and timely access to electricity. The event was put together by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
Represented by the World Bank Global Lead, Energy Access, Mr. Mac Cosgrove-Davies, the World Bank Country Director said: “Globally, more than one billion people still lack access to electricity; sub-Saharan Africa is home to about 600 million of these.
“In Nigeria, 80 million people are without access, and millions more suffer from poor service. The REA expects mini grids to fill a substantial portion of that gap covering up to 8,000 villages nationwide.
“This is not a job for any one of us alone. As mentioned, the Government of Nigeria is pushing hard toward universal electrification.”
While pledging the continued support of the World Bank to the Nigerian government to enable it provide sufficient electricity to its citizens, Benmessaoud noted: “The Nigerian government has asked the World Bank’s support for a National Electrification Project that focuses on off-grid opportunities including mini grids and the World Bank is delighted to respond to this request.
“We know that our development partners – many in this room – are also standing shoulder-to-shoulder with government on this effort.
“For the World Bank’s part, the National Electrification Project fits well into a broader energy portfolio in Nigeria which aims to holistically support sector development. Together with all of you, we are seeking to help our Nigerian colleagues make the most of international expertise and experience as it fits the Nigerian setting.
“We must all contribute, each in our own way.”
He, however, revealed that the World Bank had provided a $350 million loan for the rapid development of the rural electrification projects in Nigeria.
He added: “With regards to the $350 million loan, yes, indeed, this is a loan to the government. A lot of the funds that go from the World Bank will be provided to the private sector.
Speaking, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Damilola Ogunbiyi, noted: “From our studies, we realise that Nigerians spend about $14 billion a year on inefficient generation, we also believe that off- grid alternative like creating mini grid and solar home system can easily be at $9.2 billion a year, which will save the Nigerian public and citizens $4.2 billion.”
Earlier the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, while delivering his remarks, said that the summit was timely considering the fact that Nigerian regulators have issued regulations that will govern mini grids and to help scale up and serve the many underserved people of the country and assist them to leverage upon the existing opportunities.
According to him, the rural electrification has become the crux of the federal government, adding that the government is developing very useful data that will help those who see the opportunities that exist in the market to reach them very quickly.
Minister of State for Agriculture, Sen. Heineken Lokpobri, on Thursday, December 7, 2017 said that there was no law banning importation of maize into the country .
Minister of State for Agriculture, Sen. Heineken Lokpobri
He made this known when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development in Abuja.
While responding to questions on why maize importation was being allowed into the country, Lokpobri said it might not be unconnected with three million metric tonnes deficit the nation suffered from its local production last year.
He noted that importation of the food item was not among the 41 others banned.
On his part, the representative of the Comptroller General of Customs, Aminu Dan Galadima, informed the committee that maize importation was not illegal.
According to him, N500 millionwas realised as import duties from it in Port Harcourt alone this year.
Also speaking, a Deputy Director in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Olukayode Oluwole, while answering questions from the chairman of the committee, said: “I am not competent to give reasons on how importers of maize get foreign exchange from CBN to import millions of metric tonnes of maize into the country at the detriment of local farmers.”
Upset by the response, the chairman of the committee, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, asked whether his declaration of incompetence be put on record since he was appearing as a representative of the Governor of the bank, he said “yes”.
“I know that my submissions before this committee are on record since you have already put me on oath.
“I can give you sufficient answers to any question raised on Anchor Borrowers Program on rice which has covered 31 States of the federation with its attendant gains and benefits,” Oluwole said.
Apparently annoyed with his submission, the committee chairman and members told him to withdraw from making any presentation on behalf of the bank since he had declared himself incompetent.
“In the first place, you were not the one officially invited by this committee for this investigative hearing but the CBN Governor whom you have not in any way represented well here on account of being incompetent as owned up by you.
“On account of this, this committee advises you to withdraw completely from any form of representation on behalf of the apex bank,” said the committee chairman.
As agribusiness thrives in Nigeria, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the Corporate Farmers International (CFI) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Thursday, December 7, 2017 launched the Nigeria Stock Brokers Agribusiness Group (NSBAG).
Dr Kwesi Atta-Krah, Director, Country Alignment and System Integration, IITA
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the official launch was held in Lagos at the IITA premises in Ogba.
Dr Kwesi Atta-Krah, Director, Country Alignment and System Integration, IITA said that it was time to transform agriculture from a mere culture based to a business.
Atta-Krah said that agriculture as a culture was no longer productive.
“It has come to a point where agriculture should not be just a culture but a business.
“It has the potential of economic growth, job creation and revenue generation.
“There is need to create an avenue to engage private sector into agriculture for it to succeed.
“It is therefore, important for everybody to be responsible to ensure that this launch does not end here,’’ he said.
Atta-Krah said it was important for everyone to work together for the goals of the initiative to succeed.
Mr Babatunde Sobamowo, Chairman of NSBAG, said that the necessity of the group was to ensure a growth rate in agriculture contributions to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP).
Sobamowo said that it was time to raise incomes, reduce poverty level among others via agriculture because farmers were losing money due to the fact that there was no platform to place agricultural products.
“It is time to leverage on the opportunities presented by governments at various levels through some laudable initiatives.
“This initiative will create a lot of business opportunities to be able to access cheap and long term funds at a very low interest rate.
“The average interest rate by the CBN is 14 per cent and there is nobody that can do business with that kind of rate,’’ he said.
Speaking on the sideline, Mr Solomon Olakanmi, Secretary of NSBAG, told newsmen that it was about time the potentials in making agriculture a business was tapped into via the various value chains.
Olakanmi said that for agriculture to thrive it needed financial resources and the NSE would be playing an intermediary role between investors and producers.
“This will generate substantial income, jobs and wealth for the various stakeholders involved.
“All the sections in agriculture like production, processing and provision of necessary inputs, marketing, trading and funding will be adequately addressed,’’ he said.
The National Coordinator of CFI, Prince Ade Ajayi, said that the future of agribusiness would change with the emergence of NSBAG.
Ajayi said “the launch of NSBAG will turn around and reshaping the economy of our nation.
“CFI had a dream to develop the nation’s real sector economy through agribusiness in collaboration with agribusiness institutions like IITA, Agric Society of Nigeria, FIIRO, NSE,’’ he said.
