Governor Emmanuel
Uduaghan of Delta State has called for concerted efforts towards the growth of the agricultural sector and Small and Medium Enterprises development in the state.
Uduaghan, while declaring open the Delta State Trade Fair 2013, in Osubi, near Warri, said his administration, as part of measures under the Delta Beyond Oil Initiative, had set aside N1bn market intervention fund.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Prof. Amos Utuama, said advanced countries of the world grew by developing their SMEs and agricultural sector, which served as a springboard for industrialisation.
He said, “Conscious efforts should therefore be geared towards the improvement of agriculture and SMEs in Nigeria to harness and channel production in industrial sector towards non-oil products backed by local materials.
“Trade fairs provide the needed platform to expose locally-made goods. They also afford local entrepreneurs the opportunity to interface with their counterparts from other parts of the world with a view to harnessing the various investment windows available and adopting international best practices in doing business.”
He added that the theme of the fair, ‘Trade Beyond Oil,’ was apt as it addressed the economic revival both of the state and the country as a whole.
He said, “This consciousness is beginning to dawn on all Nigerians that sole dependence on oil has been counter-productive. This awareness is demonstrated by the enthusiasm with which Nigerians are getting involved in the manufacture of non-oil export products.”
Uduaghan said the state government was pursuing its policy of ‘Delta Beyond Oil’ by putting machinery in place to ensure that the state became an industrial and commercial haven through the formulation of various investment friendly policies and programmes in addition to windows designed by the private sector operators to grow businesses.