Business
FG Earmarks N4bn For Fish Farmers
The Federal Government has earmarked N4 billion for the financing of fishery projects in the country under the second phase of the ECOWAS-Fund Accelerated Fisheries Development Projects.
Under the arrangement, the federal government would contribute N2 billion while states and local governments would provide N1.85 billion.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs Ibukun Odusote stated this at the opening of a 2-day workshop on the project on Tuesday in Kaduna.
She said 16,000 jobs was expected to be created by each of the beneficiaries along the value chain.
She added that the Bank of Agriculture would manage the fund and disburse the loan to the beneficiaries.
Odusote said 50 per cent of the fund would be issued to youths groups as loan, 30 per cent to women while 20 per cent would be shared by other groups.
She said the development of the fisheries sub sector was part of the government’s transformation agenda, adding that it was meant to create employment, generate income, alleviate poverty and provide foreign exchange earnings.
“ It is estimated that over 10 million Nigerians are actively engaged in various fishing activities, which include artisanal capture, fishing operations, farming, processing, marketing, net fabricators and boat engine repairers and menders.
“ Fish contributes immensely to the enhancement of the nation’s health as it contains Omega III fatty acids that reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and arteriosclerosis,“ Odusote said.
According to her, fisheries contribution to the national GDP is 5.4 per cent, while the estimated national fish demand is 2.66 million metric tones.
“ The annual domestic fish production in 2011 was 893, 099 metric tones showing a shortfall of about 1,766,901 metric tones.
“ Hence, increase in national fish production will not only diversify our resource base but will complement efforts aimed at achieving the 2015 MDGs targets,“ Odusote said.
She said the project was started in 1992 with a loan of US$4.54 million from ECOWAS-Fund designed to guarantee easy access formal credit to artisanal fishermen and women in some selected communities in Delta, Edo, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states.
She said the project was expanded in 2003 to include Kano, Kogi, Imo, Niger and Yobe states with the beneficiaries getting a loan of N150,000 to N250,000 at nine per cent interest rate.
The Permanent Secretary said more than 4,000 fish farmers had shared N136 million loan and repaid over N125 million, representing 66 per cent of the loan package.
Odusote appealed to the participants from the Northern zone to be proactive and ensure effective implementation of the funds through efficient monitoring and evaluation of the projects to achieve its targeted goal.
Earlier, the Director of Fisheries, Mr Evaristus Edet said the project had impacted significantly in the 11 states that benefited from the facility.
Edet said the project had been expanded to cover all states of the federation.
Our correspondent reports that the participants were drawn from the Bank of Agriculture, fish farms and fisheries department from the Northers States.
Business
Food Vendors, Others Relocate To New Site At PH Airport
The raging controversy between the Port Harcourt International Airport Management and restaurants/canteen operators and theirallies over relocation has been brought under control, as the operators have commenced relocation to their structures at the new site.
Recall that there had been serious feud over a directive by the Manager of the airport, Mr. Michael Area, for food vendors and their allies to relocate to the new site.
They insisted that the new site was too distant and hence, would negatively affect patronage from customers, with possible loss.
They further also insisted that it wouldcost them much money to put up another structure, given the economic situation in the country, since the airport management did not build any structure for them, apart from providing the empty land they have to also pay for.
The situation had led to flexing of muscles, which made the Airport Manager to order for sealing of all shops, resulting in scarcity of food, as airport users could not find a place to eat, apart from the only Genesis fast food spot available.
As at last Friday, The Tide observed that most of the food vendors had transferred their structures to the new place, and had started doing business there already.
Meanwhile, customers have started settling down at the new location as they were seen patronising shops for foods and drinks, in spite of the distance.
Few of the remaining structures at the old site, The Tide further gathered, will also be removed as quickly as possible, and the owners are making efforts to get funds for the job to be done.
One of them, Mrs Aka Love explained that she was going to relocate to the new place before the end of March.
Currently, business activities at the old site have come to null, as the place which was usually a beehive of food, drinks and relaxation, has completely winded down.
By: Corlins Walter
Business
MOWCA Strengthens Maritime Crime Prevention
Secretary General of the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), Dr. Paul Adalikwu, has stepped up interaction with the United States Government to lift restrictions placed on some member countries allegedly implicated in illicit shipping activities.
Adalikwu, who led a delegation from the MOWCA Secretariat to the US Embassy in Abidjan for a first leg of the strategic consultation aimed at promoting seamless participation of MOWCA countries in international trade within the global maritime space, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to the best ethical and lawful maritime practices.
Addressing the U.S Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, H.E Mrs Jessica Davis Ba, the MOWCA SG stated the organisation’s interest in promoting the International Ship and Port facility Security (ISPS) code which aims at enhancing security of vessels and their ports of call.
He expressed the commitment of MOWCA in promoting environmentally friendly, safe and cost effective shipping without any encumbrance that may limit the economic potential of member countries.
Dr Adalikwu recalled that at the instance of the U.S. Department of State invitation, MOWCA participated in the 2023 Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) Conference in Larnaca, Cyprus, on February 28–March 1, 2023, and a virtual meeting held on June 6 2023, with Mrs Jennifer Chalmers, Officer in change of Counterproliferation Initiative.
He recalled The U.S. DOS willingness to support MOWCA’s effort for preventive maritime security through the establishment of the Center for Information and Communication (CINFOCOM) with the aim to ensure a maritime situational awareness domain within MOWCA’s member states’ waters.
He added that MOWCA under his watch is committed to training and retraining of maritime practitioners and experts to enhance the human capital capabilities of member states.
The CINFOCOM will help prevent transnational crimes committed at sea like sanctions evasion by North Korea and other state actors, who exploit poor enforcement due diligence by ship open registries to circumvent United Nations and U.S. trade restrictions.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
Business
Nigeria’s Public Debt Hits N97.3trn – DMO
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has hinted that Nigeria’s public debt increased by 10.7 per cent from N87.87 trillion in the third quarter of last year, to N97.34 trillion as at December 31, 2023.
DMO, in an update data released last Friday, said the increase in the debt stock was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the Federal Government to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
The office noted that the N97.3 trillion public debt comprises of domestic debt of N59.12 trillion and external debt of N38.22 trillion. The sum of $3.5 billion was used to service external debt during the review period.
“Nigeria’s Public Debt Stock as at December 31, 2023 was N97.34trillion or $108.229 billion. This amount comprises the domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), the 36 States Governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“There was an increase of N9.43 trillion over the comparative figure for September, 2023, which was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the FGN to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
“At N59.12 trillion, total domestic debt accounted for 61 percent of the total public debt stock, while external debt at N38.22 trillion accounted for the balance of 39 percent.
“Consistent with the debt management strategy, Nigeria’s external debt stock was skewed in favour of loans from multilateral (49.77 percent) and bilateral lenders (14.02 percent) or total of 63.79 percent which are mostly concessional and semi-concessional.
“Whilst the DMO continues to employ best practice in public debt management, the recent and on-going efforts of the fiscal authorities to shore up revenue will support debt sustainability”, DMO stated.
By: Corlins Walter
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