-Signs MoU with Dutch Agric Organisation
Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG), the Agribusiness sector Operators
platform, led by Mr. Sani Dangote, has thrown its weight behind the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s foreign exchange restriction policy as
well as the refusal of Bank to devalue the naira as is being suggested by
international finance institutions and multi-lateral agencies.
The CBN in the past few months has been under pressure over the decision
to ban sourcing of foreign exchange for the importation of 41 items for
which Nigeria has comparative advantage as well as its resistance to
international pressure for the devaluation of the nation’s currency.
The NABG Chairman stressed that his group believes that the CBN forex
policy especially as it affects commodities like tomato puree, rice, palm
oil and other agric produce is the correct step to save the nation’s
economy from impending crisis and return it to the path of sustainable
growth.
Sani Dangote who was part of the panel of discussant ýat the 4th
EU-Nigeria business forum in Lagos said: “We commend the Central Bank
Governor, Godwin Emefiele, for taking this bold step. We have companies
who employ thousands of Nigerians, we have small farm holders who will
produce for the country’s need. We cannot do this overnight but it has to
start from somewhere and if the federal government kills the incentive to
start from the grass root level, you can never reach the level to be self
sufficient.”
He said the decision by CBN is the right move required to stimulate local
production, maintaining that allowing imports would only suppress local
production.
ý”If we do not stimulate it now, when will there be the time to do this.
Once you allow some imports to come in and be dumped on the local market
it will certainly surpress local incentive and indigenous initiative and
there is no way any investor will deploy resources to develop the sector,
there is no way the local farmers, rural farmers will find the opportunity
to grow,” he said.
In his words: “This is the right step forward, whatever Nigeria has the
capacity to produce must be encouraged to grow, whether we have trillions
of dollars in the government coffers or not, the federal government should
continue with this policy until local capacity is enhanced.”
He advised that the CBN should make more capital and funding available
and affordable for the farmers to grow in order to achieve the nation’s
quest for economic diversification, while stating that it was heart
warming that the apex bank recently agreed to provide funds for tomato
out-growers in the country toward enhancing their capacity to boost output
and meet the requirement of tomato processing companies in the country.
Dangote then tasked the commercial banks and other financial institutions
in the country to support the effort of CBN in funding agricultural
enterprises in the country.
“To do this, there is need ýto empower seed development, empower research
development institutions, enhance mechanization, training for the farmers
ýand provide affordable long-term loans for farmers. If these are done, I
can guarantee that in the next year or two, we will see a very high level
of change in terms of the capacity to produce,” he said.
The NABG chairman also noted that the group signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with a Dutch Organisation, Top Sector Agric Food, the
agribusiness development unit of the Dutch government, to facilitate and
encourage the growth of agribusiness in Nigeria, ranging from livestock
to horticulture and other agro-allied industries, pointing out that this
move by the group would expose Nigeria’s agricultural sector to global
opportunities while also bringing investment opportunities into the
country.
Dangote indicated that the group has entered into similar partnerships
with other foreign organizations, including one with Adepta of France and
the Kenya Agribusiness Group, while stating that plans were afoot for
similar MoUs to be signed with Irish and UK agribusiness groups.
“Today, we are looking for ways to improve the nation’s agricultural
sector especially with a large population dependent on agriculture. As a
whole, this country cannot really move forward without developing the
sector’s potentials. These potentials cannot be valuable if they are not
exploited ýto reflect positively on the lives of people and on the
economy,” he said.
He said the group was invited to the Netherlands to visit many agro-allied
industries, agricultural facilities ýas well as research and development
centres to seek investment opportunities for the nation’s agro-allied
sector.
Also speaking at the event, the Managing Director, Presco Oil Palm Plc,
Mr. Francis Nwabogu, said ýthe decision by the CBN would at its initial
stage be challenging for businesses, but stressed that it would benefit
the economy at large in no distant time.
“Looking at this decision from the national point of ýview, it is better
for us to cry now and laugh later than to laugh now and cry later. There
have been attempt to go down this route but there have been lobbies to
thwart the decision. If we take the bull by the horn, those feeling the
hitch now will be better for it in the nearest future,” he said.
According to the Presco Managing Director, in terms of oil palm
production, the next five or six years from now with about five or six
companies planting consistently, a lot of economic activities will be
generated, thousands of people will be employed, government will earn
more tax revenue and ýit will be a win-win situation for the entire
country.
On his part, the Coordinator, NABG, Mr. Emmanuel Ijewere, stressed the
need for Nigeria to take some decisions going forward, saying that Nigeria
must be ready to experience what he called a “short-term suffering” to
achieve economic growth and development.
“We need to take some decisions to achieve what we want going forward. We
must be ready for short-term suffering to be able to achieve economic
growth and development. Most of the developed economies in the world today
did not go through a pleasurable time all through but sacrificed and
today, they are benefitting from it. We cannot continue to postpone the
sacrifice we have to make. The sacrifice is easier made today because it
will become even more complex next year or in ten years’ timeý,” he said.