Chairman of NESG board, Mr. Foluso Philip, and DG of NESG, presenting the programme of event of NES 19 to the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, at the minister’s office, Monday in Abuja
President Goodluck Jonathan will launch an agricultural initiative at the opening of this year’s Nigerian Economic Summit (NES) 19 at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja today (Tuesday). The programme, referred to as Nagropreneurs programme, is targeted at encouraging youths into commercial agriculture.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, disclosed this yesterday (Monday) when the board members and organisers of the summit visited him in his office in Abuja. According to the minister, the president, by this initiative, “will lay a trajectory for this sector, that is transformative.”
Chairman of the NESG board, Mr. Foluso Philips, who led the delegation, recalled that, early in the year, during the meeting of the Eminent Persons Group with the President, the idea of making agriculture the focus of this year’s summit was conceived. According to him, with NES 19 focusing on agriculture, what was an idea then “has become a major reality.”
Commending the minister for his role in this year’s summit, Mr. Philips explained that, although NESG has a policy commission on agriculture, which is one of the more active policy commissions, the minister has “created an incredible platform for us to move that one further.” He thanked the minister for partnering with NESG, saying “this is the first time” the sector was receiving such a support from the ministry.
Sola David-Borha, Managing Director of Stanbic IBTC, described agriculture as “a critical sector of the economy,” and called on the minister to encourage other members of the presidential cabinet to participate because their presence “is critical to the success of the summit.” Mr. Frank Nweke, director general of NESG, thanked the minister for his support and leadership towards the summit.
Keith Richards, the Managing Director of Promasidor, a dairy product processing company, described his industry as one “that has a close connection with the ministry of agriculture.” He noted that a there is a “great opportunity to dialogue, and expressed his enthusiasm about meeting with “young people trying to develop their business in agriculture.”
The minister assured that the federal government “is very much in support of agriculture, adding that “it is imperative that we diversify the economy.” According to him, “oil is going to go away. There is no doubt that agriculture is the sector that will take Nigeria to the next level, especially when it comes to creating wealth.” He thanked the NESG board for choosing agriculture as the focus of this year’s summit, saying “it shows that the private sector here is strongly supportive of the sector.”
“We have been working very hard to reposition this sector as a very serious sector able to create wealth. We are looking at agriculture, finance, aviation, irrigation, activities of women in agricultue, research and development, considered very important in increasing productivity. We are looking at trade and competitiveness,” the minister explained.
For Nigeria, the minister noted that “we should be a mega player, just like Brazil and Argentina.” He pointed out that “it is not the job of government to unlock the potentials in agriculture. It is the job of the private sector to do that. He promised to “use this summit as another opportunity to get the private sector talking about the entire value chain in agriculture.” According to him, “agriculture is a big sector. Nigeria has to work hard to play in it.”
admin
