Business
NASS Assures On Sugar Masterplan Bill
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Investment, Senator Nenadi Usman, has expressed optimism that the National Assembly would soon pass the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) bill.
Usman disclosed this in Abuja at a one-day stakeholders’ interactive forum and the unveiling of the NSMP.
The Executive Council had in September approved the NSMP as well as a regime of fiscal and investment incentives to boost sugar production.
Usman said the bill, when passed into law, would ensure the smooth implementation of the new NSMP, stressing that “The bill is to strengthen the implementation of the policy, to give it a legal backing and some push so that people will not just think they can just do anything and get away with it.
He disclosed that “the bill has gone through the first reading, waiting for the second reading which will protect all the stakeholders, especially the consumers and the manufacturers. It is criminal for anyone to be given all the fiscal protection needed just for them to be able to import and keep refining raw sugar at the detriment of having out growers in the farm that should be growing sugarcane,’’.
Usman, who was also a former Minister of Finance, urged sabotours to stay away from the NSMP, adding that it would no longer be business as usual.
In his remarks, Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga, said with the implementation of the NSMP, 411.7 additional mega watts of electricity would be generated from sugar production by 2020.
According to him, the implementation of the NSMP will also make Nigeria to be among the top ten sugar exporters in the world.
The minister said apart from the country being self sufficient in sugar production which would bring an end to the importation of sugar, the successful implementation of the policy would create about 117 million jobs.
“The implementation of the sugar master plan will lead to the production of 161.1 million litres of ethanol which will save the country about $65.8 million on fuel importation.’’
Aganga noted with concern the over dependence on importation of sugar which, he said, had affected the economy negatively, adding that government had put in place measures to encourage local production.
He said “in order to both stimulate and protect local investment in the sugar sub-sector, a new regime of fiscal tariff has been approved to take effect from January 1, 2013.
“The measures include the approval of high fiscal tariff structure which is deliberately skewed against importation and to prevent dumping of cheap sugar and protect the infant industry.’’
The minister said the tariff would take cognisance of the little value addition by refiners who import and refine sugar.
According to him, the Federal Government has also provided incentives for investors in the sector.
The incentives included zero per cent on machinery and spare parts for local sugar manufacturing industries, five years tax holiday for ‘sugarcane to sugar’ value-chains and investors in local sugar manufacturing industries.
The incentive included an outright ban on the importation of refined sugar in retail packs among others.
Aganga said the incentives would also lead to 30 per cent tax credit on the cost of provision of critical infrastructure by sugarcane to sugar project investors.
The minister urged the stakeholders to ensure that their deliberations complemented government’s efforts in stabilising the sugar sector.
The Executive Secretary, National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Dr Lateef Busari, who presented the NSMP to the stakeholders, said its implementation was a golden opportunity to boost the country’s economy.
“The roadmap is a ten-year plan that intends to see Nigeria from producing the two per cent sugar consumption to self sufficiency and to have some excess.
“The roadmap should be able to produce 1.79 metric tonnes of sugar over the next ten years with some other collateral advantages embedded in it.
“The NSMP will provide lots of jobs apart from reducing the burden of capital flight through the importation of sugar.’’
Chief Kola Jamodu, President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), said the presentation of the NSMP to stakeholders would enable manufacturers to have a better understanding of how to implement it successfully.
Business
NASS Engages Agric Minister On Food Crisis
The National Assembly through its joint committee on Agriculture Production Services and Rural Development has engaged the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari on an urgent solution to food inflation bedeviling the country.
The committee chaired by Senator Saliu Mustapha (APC Kwara Central), at an interface with the Minister, interrogated him on plans being put in place to arrest high cost of food prices in the country and make it affordable and available to the poor masses.
In his response, the Minister said the Federal Government has commenced distribution of 42,000 metric tonnes of grains to some focal points of state capitals nationwide.
“We have received directive and approval from Mr. President to distribute for immediate impact 42,000 metric tons of assorted grains free of charge to the Nigerian population.
“This was received in mid-February, as we are speaking, we have a record of the distribution being carried out, but I will want to plead with the honorable house and distinguished senators that some of the movements can’t be made public but a lot of states have started receiving their grains.
“We are distributing to state capitals in the first instance as you all are aware of the risk involved in the vandalism of foodstuff so we are working with the office of the national security adviser and other national security agencies.
“Furthermore, 58,500 metric tonnes of milled rice from mega rice millers will also be released into the market for stabilisation”, he said.
Speaking with newsmen shortly after the interactive session, Senator Mustapha expressed satisfaction with the steps being taken by the federal government.
He said: “From our interactive session, we are on the other side of the parliament; we are fully in the picture of what is happening, we are convinced that the steps being taken by the federal government are in the right direction.
“All we did again is to further emphasise on the need for certain things to be done on time, I think from this collaborative approach by the grace of God, Nigerians will have a better feel of the government policy on food security”.
Business
Obj Harps On Cheap Credit, Policy Consistency For Food Production
Nigeria’s former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has called on the government to provide cheap credit and ensure policy consistency to enable farmers increase food production in the country.
The former President made the call as food inflation and nutrition security concerns grow in Africa’s most populous country.
Obasanjo’s made the call at the 9th Agrofood & Plastprintpack conference in Lagos recently, where he said farmers in the country were yearning for consistency in policy and single-digit interest loans to drive growth in the sector and attain food security.
“Policy sustainability and predictability is what farmers want. It helps them to plan. Availability of finance is also what farmers want. They cannot survive on the double digital interest rate”, Obasanjo, who is also a farmer, said at the conference.
According to him, food and nutrition security start with availability, then affordability by ensuring that everyone who needs food can get it.
He noted that food was one of the major imperatives in life, adding that “there cannot be food without agriculture and agribusiness”.
Obasanjo further stressed the importance of agriculture in changing the fortunes of the economy, with attendant exponential gains by way of earnings, employment, food security and other spin-offs.
He noted that agriculture must be made attractive to the country’s teeming youth population, saying this would address the rising unemployment, worsening insecurity and youth migration through the Mediterranean.
“We have to make agriculture attractive to the youths. We have to think within and outside the box to make it attractive to the youths so they are willing to get their hands dirty and feet wet”, he advised.
He continued that “Part of the security issue is owing to our inability to get them engaged. The need for agro-food and agribusiness is for food security, employment, wealth creation and income generation, particularly foreign exchange”.
Speaking also, Wouter Plom, the ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, said his country had faced challenges similar to those Nigeria confronts – feeding a growing population with limited resources.
He said as partners with a joint vision, the Netherlands and Nigeria recognise that the agricultural sector was one of the prominent drivers for economic growth.
He noted that the Netherlands has further strengthened its partnership with Nigeria to boost the agriculture sector in three main areas- economic growth, improved diets and youth employment.
The ambassador noted that all the challenges in driving growth through the sector, improving diets and tackling unemployment can be addressed when food production is efficient.
Paul Maerz, Managing Director of Fairtrade Messe, said with more investment in agro-food & plastprintpack solutions, products and technologies, brighter days were ahead for Nigeria’s agriculture.
Business
Abuja Farmers, Others Lose N12bn To Ginger Disease
The Federal Government, has confirmed the outbreak of ginger blight epidemic in four States in Nigeria, saying ginger farmers have lost over N12 billion due to the disease.
The government disclosed this at the inauguration of the National Ginger Blight Epidemic Control Taskforce in Abuja, revealing that the fungal disease had inflicted significant damage on ginger farms in Kaduna, Nassarawa Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory.
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Abdullahi, said the blight had caused billions of naira in losses, impacting not only the livelihoods of farmers, but also Nigeria’s position as the world’s second-largest ginger producer.
“Our preliminary estimates suggested that affected farmers in southern Kaduna lost over N12bn.
“Furthermore, considering that over 85 per cent of Nigeria’s ginger cultivation occurs in this region, we can safely assume a substantial loss of cultivated land, potentially exceeding 70 per cent of total land”, he stated.
Abdullahi, however, stated that the Federal Government through the National Agricultural Development Fund would launch a N1.6bn recovery package for affected farmers in ginger-producing areas.
He said the ginger blight epidemic served as a stark reminder of the importance of preparedness in safeguarding agricultural resources, adding that by investing in research, extension services and farmer support systems, “we can build a more sustainable future for our agricultural sector”.
On his part, the Chairman of the task force committee, Abubakar Abdullahi, said there was no doubt that the blight on ginger had negatively affected the Gross Domestic Product earnings from this subsector.
“It is of necessity and great urgency that various subcommittees are put in place to forestall these negative effects”, he stated.
Abdullahi assured the minister of the commitment of the team to salvage the situation, as he pleaded with the minister to give the committee the power to co-opt members that would add value to the task force to discharge their duties efficiently and effectively.
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