Giving the opening remarks at the event,
the MD/CEO of First Bank of Nigeria Dr Adesola Adeduntan described Agriculture
as the sector that “Holds sway in the mission to eradicate poverty in the
country”.
Dr Adeduntan believed it was time for
Nigeria to witness an Agro-Industrial Renaissance Programme, harnessing the
diverse agro-systems and value chain. This he noted required strategic
stakeholder engagement on the way forward, hence the maiden First Bank Agric
Expo.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural
Development Chief Audu Ogbeh who was the Special Guest of Honour, officially declared
open the Agric expo exhibition and he described the Agro-sector as a vital one
with the recent NBS Q4, 2016 GDP growth rate of about 4%, and a 24%
contribution to the economy.
Chief Ogbeh decried the menace of the
importation of foodstuffs into the country, which he identified as a major
threat to achieving self-sufficiency in food production.
According to the Agric Minister “If we
cannot grow food and feed ourselves, we don’t exist as a Nation”. He also noted
that policy inconsistency over the decades played a major factor in stalling an
Agricultural revolution in the country.
The Minister also listed the strategies of
his ministry to include re-launching cocoa, commercial production of shea
butter, coconut oil production and producing/exporting cashew.
The Minister stated that “Nigeria was the
only country with an interest rate for farmers above 5%”. He urged First Bank
to pioneer efforts towards improving access to credit to farmers at an encouraging
interest rate system.
The Country Manager for AFEX Commodities
Exchange Mr Ayodeji Balogun speaking on the topic “Reinventing Agric
for Sustainable National Development, will require capital, talent and a high
drive for productivity in the sector.
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