The federal government has commenced inter-agency collation of data on the country’s commodities export-import trend required for the development of agribusiness and agro-allied industries.
The data which involve all commodities for the period between 2005 and 2010 for their respective distributive zones, are required by the Committee on Africa’s Agribusiness and Agro-business Development Initiative (3ADI) to help realise its mandate.
The 3ADI was endorsed by the African Heads of State during the high level conference on the development of agribusiness and agro-industries in Africa (HLCD-3A) in Abuja recently.
The initiative has the objectives of ensuring that consultative meetings are held regularly to chart a road map for the implementation of the 3ADI agenda as well as identify financing opportunities at both federal and state levels to help realise set targets.
According to the initiators, the 3ADI was conceptualised and adopted as a mechanism to spur the development of competitive, sustainable and inclusive agro-industries and agribusinesses in Africa as a strategic option for increasing economic growth and food security in the continent. But determined to further boost the level of contributions of the non-oil sector to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the federal government is working with multi-lateral institutions in the sectors to implement joint programmes aimed at promoting agribusinesses and agro-allied industries.
Volunteer agencies
A committee of volunteers, composed of various relevant ministries, departments and agencies, was constituted to coordinate the implementation of the initiative.
The agencies include: The Bank of Industry (BOI), National Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Nigerian Export Promotion Commission (NEPC), Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) amongst others.
The United Nations International Development Organisation (UNIDO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) resolved to continue to work together with the federal government through the relevant ministries and parastatals to mobilise resources for the development and implementation of the 3ADI.
At the end of the brain-storming deliberations on how to make the initiative work, members emphasised the need for stakeholders to focus on the development of value chains, with specific targets on growers and processors, while the government should create the enabling environment for the initiative to thrive.
It was gathered yesterday in Abuja that the federal government has since issued a formal directive to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to provide the necessary export-import data, including information on the country’s export potentials as well as their political relevance.
The directive issued by the minister of Commerce and Industry, conveyed through a letter dated May 12, 2011, was delivered last week to the authorities at the NBS, with a specific request for the provision of the six year commodities export-import data to help the committee to commence work immediately.
The minister gave yesterday, May 17, 2011, as deadline for the bureau to report to the ministry on the requested data.
