By Kafayat Kokumo
Stakeholders in the agric value chain have called for the industrialisation of Nigeria’s agricultural sector, saying it would create jobs, improve food security, increase exports and move the country from subsistence to commercial agriculture.
They made the call at the two-day symposium and exhibition held by Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, in Lagos.
According to them, industrialisation would create opportunities in packaging, marketing and logistics and improve the value of Nigerian farm produce for export.
They noted that there was a need for the government, states, farmers, financial institutions and other stakeholders to work together in building an industrial agricultural sector capable of producing enough for local consumption and export.
Speaking on the importance of industrialising the sector, a representative of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEPC, Ms. Patience Afanide, said agro-industrialisation would stimulate other sectors, increase the volume and value of exports and contribute to the country’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP.
She stated: “Industrialization will stimulate other economic sectors, and it will stimulate the export sector, and by the time export increases, we increase our GDP. We will increase the volume and value of export, which in turn increases the country’s GDP”.
Also speaking, Executive Director, Funtuna Ventures and Animal Care Services Konsult Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Tolulola Olumide, said Nigeria could no longer afford to delay industrialisation, linking food security with national security and public safety.
She said: “When we talk about food security, we’re talking about national security. We’re talking about public safety. So, at this point, we can’t afford to stagnate where we are.”
On his part, a representative of Bank of Agriculture, Mr. Nurudeen Olusiji, said the bank was focusing on aggregation by onboarding farmers and aggregation companies to ensure farm produce are available in large volumes for industrial use and export.
He said this would help move agriculture from its subsistence and peasant nature to commercial production and improve food security.
He stated: “By the time we industrialize this sector, this agric sector, we will know that at least we have left that subsistence nature, we have left that peasant notion and go commercial. And this one will enable us to even have, guaranteed food security.”
He added that individual farmers could not afford tractors costing N80 million, making farmer clusters necessary for access to modern technology.
He also stressed the importance of technology, research, cottage industries, processing plants and markets for large-scale production.
On the challenges limiting industrialisation, Executive Director, Corporate Services, Origin Tech Group, Olusesan Ayeni, said government policy, infrastructure, financing and energy were critical, noting that states also had a role to play.
He said: “We need to bring that policy back where there is deliberate effort to build roads, seaport, help farmers, create structures, models, financing models that will help farmers to continually produce food.”
He also proposed tractor centres across the country to give farmers access to tractor services, while stressing that energy remained essential because diesel could not sustainably power processing businesses.
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