Why FG should ban imported concentrates
What is the size of your farm and what do you have on it now? We have about 1,200 hectares of farm land. Right now; a mango plantation is ongoing on the farm which we started harvesting. Also on the farm, we have a seed factory where we produce seedlings; we have also started fish […]
What is the size of your farm and what do you have on it now?
We have about 1,200 hectares of farm land. Right now; a mango plantation is ongoing on the farm which we started harvesting. Also on the farm, we have a seed factory where we produce seedlings; we have also started fish production.
Also, a rice processing mill project is on in partnership with the Bank of Industry and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. Right now we are thinking of setting up rice processing mill of about 13,000 tons annually.
Why did your company venture into the production of fruits concentrate?
We ventured into fruits concentrates production because in 2003, the federal government banned the importation of fruit juice into Nigeria. The law was that whosoever wants to bring juice into Nigeria must first of all set up a factory in Nigeria and process the juice in the country. But what government didn’t do then was ban both the importation of fruit juice and fruit concentrate into the country.
Instead of the juice processing industry utilising the local fruit crops we have, to empower our local farmer, to create a sustainable Nigerian economy in terms of agriculture, they resulted to importing the concentrate from Asia, US and South Africa.
The law didn’t help Nigeria in any significant way because packaged juice was imported into the country but now we still have concentrates whose source we do not have control over. If concentrates are produced in Nigeria, there will be more checks and balances of the concentrate production which NAFDAC will check for their hygienic production processes before they reached the juice processors.
What do you think government should do to stop importation of fruit concentrates so that the local farmers can benefit?
What government should do is to raise the tariff of fruit concentrate importation to 100% or place a total ban on the importation. With these, government will encourage local production because local farmers will be empowered to plant not only crops but also participate in nation building.
Also, by planting more trees, we are as well fighting desert encroachment. Our struggle has been to partner with government to produce not only the fruit but plant like 2- 4 million trees using out-growers scheme, and put up factory to provide a value chain for Nigerian farmers where we are going to be distributing seedlings to farmers, then after 2-3 years, we will set out the factory and buy back the fruits at maturity level from the farmers.
What are some of the benefits farmers stand to gain from your concept?
Farmers will be economically empowered by planting trees like mango, cashew and guava. Farmers can get these fruits and sell them at the rate of N200, N100 or even for N50 and by so doing the farmer has been empowered economically, and such farmer will need little or no attention from the government.