‘Efficient value chain key to agric sector development’

NACCIMA President, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, dropped the hint at the dialogue session on Agricultural Value Chain with theme “Enhancing Agricultural Export through Adequate Financing” organised by the association in Lagos.Abubakar who was represented at the event by the President of Kaduna branch of NACCIMA, Dr. Alimi Bello, said agricultural value chain is an option […]

NACCIMA President, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, dropped the hint at the dialogue session on Agricultural Value Chain with theme “Enhancing Agricultural Export through Adequate Financing” organised by the association in Lagos.
Abubakar who was represented at the event by the President of Kaduna branch of NACCIMA, Dr. Alimi Bello, said agricultural value chain is an option for agricultural development because higher returns can be realised through value enhancing inputs.
He said: “There are innumerable benefits in the value chain of agricultural processes, from cultivation to the final consumer, which if harnessed could engender rapid development of the economy.”
According to him, Nigeria’s total dependency on oil has currently reduced the contribution of the agric sector to less than 24 per cent contrary to its potential of 75 per cent which had been proven over the years.
He said the only viable solution to bail out the sector from its current mess is for government to enhance the agricultural value chain and make funds available for the development of agribusiness in the country.
Abubakar noted that the enhancement of the agricultural value chain and development of agribusiness would not only develop the agricultural sector but also create more jobs and provide raw materials for industrial growth.
The Chairman of NACCIMA Agric Trade Group, Tunji Olukoya, said value addition to agricultural products would bring about the required innovation in the agricultural products and also increase the return on investment for the farmer or the entrepreneur along the value chain.