The
Franco-Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in its bid to foster trade and
investment relations between France and Nigeria on Tuesday 25th
April, 2016 held a 1-day Business summit at the food of sun hall of the Eko Hotels
and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. Tagged: NIGERIA BEYOND OIL; A FOCUS ON THE NIGERIAN AGRIBUSINESS SPACE.
The
event was attended by the Consul General of the French Consulate Mr. Laurent
Polonceaux, The Chairman of the Nigerian Agribusiness Group (NABG) Alhaji Sani
Dangote, Dr. Emmanuel Ijewere, Coordinator NABG, representatives from the Association
pour le Developpement des Echanges internationaux de Produits et Techniques
Agroalimentaire”(ADEPTA) from France, and other key stakeholders in the
Nigerian Agribusiness space.
The
objective of the summit as stated by the Corporate Affairs representative of
the Chamber, Mr. Moses Umoru is to appraise the fortunes and potentials of the
agricultural sector of the Nigerian economy in line with the focus of the
present administration in strengthening the neglected agricultural sector.
The
Consul General in his welcome address stated that “Nigeria has over 80percent
of its land viable for agricultural produce but uses less than 30percent. Given,
is the reason why Nigeria is not self-sufficient in the area of food production”.
He stated his confidence in the new administration of president Buhari and the
drive to diversify the economy with strong focus in the area of agriculture.
Alhaji Sani Dangote in his opening remarks emphasized
that the dwindling fortune of the Nigerian oil price at this critical time and
other economic realities facing the present administration has made the
diversification agenda inevitable. He stress that Nigeria can attain food
sufficiency if the present administration would continue in its drive to
promoting agriculture and making it attractive for foreign investors. Dr.
Emmanuel Ijewere, the coordinator of the NABG in his opening remarks stated
that the French are the best farmers in the world and will help the country achieve
its full potentials in its drive to improve its agriculture. “I think we will
take this partnership with the French to the end of the road because they are
one of the best farmers in the world and are also known as one of the most
efficient in Europe. This opportunity we have is a continuation of what
President Buhari signed as that was the first country he visited when he became
president and he took the agricultural community along. Both presidents,
Francois Hollande and Buhari insisted that private sectors in the industry must
come together as they signed the agreement last year, he explained.
The
representative from ADEPTA spoke on the partnership France is having with
Nigeria in the area of agriculture which was sealed last year with the ADEPTA
NABG agreement and the role France is playing in promoting cheap mechanized solutions
for farmers in Nigeria.
Paper
presentations were delivered by Dr. Kuforiji Afolabi; Dean Faculty of
Agriculture, Federal polytechnic Bayelsa on THE REBIRTH OF AGRICULTURE IN
NIGERIA , Dr. Sola Aliu; CEO Staolar Center for Entrepreneurship on INTRGRATED
FARMING AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, Tokunbo Habeeb; Lagos State
coordinator RMRDC on THE ROLE OF RMRDC IN PROMOTING AGRICULTURE IN NIGERIA.
The
event was rounded off by a question and answer session where critical questions
were asked by the participants on Agriculture in Nigeria.
Written by The Speakpreneur Content Team
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