The President of Nigeria Agribusiness Group, NABG, Sani Dangote, has expressed optimism over massive revolution in agribusiness in 2017 based on collaborations and synergies formed by the Federal Government and the group. Dangote stated this at the 2nd Annual General Meeting of NABG in Abuja, where he also disclosed that NABG Presidential Committee in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development were working hard to jump-start and catalyze a roadmap on the implementation of the recently launched Agriculture Promotion Policy, APP, tagged: “Green Alternative,” which will propel the expected revolution in Nigeria’s agribusiness within the next 12 months.
He acknowledged and said with President Muhammadu Buhari leading the revolution in the sector and willingness to engage the organised private sector in renewed drive to diversify the economy through transformation of the agricultural sector, agribusiness will experience a boom and farmers’ living standard will improve. He said: “Agriculture in Nigeria is still done the way it was done in the 1960’s probably before 1960. But within the next 12 months, we will experience a dramatic revolution in agribusiness.
“The government of President Buhari has started listening. We have engaged the office of the Vice-President, we have also engaged the office of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, and they have agreed to engage NABG to fashion out the way forward for the next 12 months. “We have proposed focusing on industrial food and non-food ingredients manufacturing, and value added processing of staple foods (crops, livestock and fisheries) into packaged, convenient and nutritious food products for domestic consumption and export markets to create jobs, drive competitiveness and significant increase in generated revenue base at the state level.
“We have proposed a shift from incentivising commercial banks to lend to agriculture to directly incentivising structured cooperative farmers through off-take markets and price stabilisation mechanism. “We have proposed a strengthening the cooperation platform of the current Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and State driven Anchor Borrowers Programme by shifting to the concept of private sector focused programme through recapitalisation of Bank of Agriculture, NISRAL and Bank of Industry.
“These are some of the proposals we have made to the federal government that we believe, if they follow what we have advised to be done, in 12 months, we will see a big revolution in agribusiness and it will turn out to be a big business, and not a mere formality in service and practice.” The agro-investor also expressed optimism that with the proposed roadmap for the sector, the expected revolution will bring interest rate for agriculture and agribusiness financing down to five per cent or less in 2017 for more attraction of investors.
(Vanguard)
