News in brief:
– TGI Group’s Sadiq Kassim says Nigeria’s annual expenditure of â¦3.3 trillion on imported food is unsustainable and he advocates for domestic food production.
– He urged the finance ministry to invest in research-driven commercialisation for new food varieties, emphasising Nigeria’s potential for self-sufficiency amid global supply chain disruptions.
Nigeria’s reliance on food imports is unsustainable, according to the General Manager, Corporate Affairs of TGI Group, Sadiq Kassim. He said that the country spends a staggering â¦3.3 trillion on imported food and agricultural commodities annually, a drain on its foreign exchange reserves and a strain on its economy.
Kassim made his remarks during a panel session at the unveiling of Afrinvest 2023 Nigerian Banking Sector Report in Lagos. He urged the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) to invest in commercialising research findings to boost the development of new food varieties to meet the growing demand for food in the country.
He stated that Nigeria country has a high capacity for food production and is able to be self-sufficient, even after the disruptions to global supply chain caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.
The comapny executive said that the reviving agricultural development initiatives and providing more support and funding to the sector is an important step in the right direction if the ultimate goal is to enhance its growth and sustainability.
Additionally, Kasssim noted that there have been some positive signs in the agriculture products export side. For example, he said that the value of the country’s agricultural commodities export has risen in 2022 than in previouse years.
Kassim also highlighted the untapped potential of the agricultural sector to address unemployment, particularly among youth. He described, as lamentable, a situation where 53% percent of youth were unemployed, while only 37% of women were involved in agriculture. This he noted was tantamount to excluding half of the population from the crucial sector.
His sentiment about women’s lower involvement in agriculture echoes that of Edobong Akpabio, who said some months ago that stakeholders need to create enabling environments for more women to enter agriculture in order to increase productivity.
