Economy
Agriculture Economic Empowerment Tool—Youths
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The agro-allied industrialization of the African continent cannot materialize without the involvement of the youths because they have the right drive and energy, participants at a Tuesday session of the 2016 African Economic Conference that focused on youth entrepreneurship in agriculture said.
“I say and I hope you join me to say that agribusiness is not the future. It is the now,” said Oyin Asaaju, a young Nigerian who is excited about agribusiness.
Indeed, participants in the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) youth agripreneurs scheme have affirmed agriculture as an economic empowerment tool.
They exhibited some of their products, most of which were made from cassava, a staple crop, at the session to the delight of participants and visitors. They further voiced their views at two different debate sessions where they shared their views on “Agriculture: A sector of economic opportunities for African youths.”
“Agri-business is not the future. It is the now,” said Assaju, who explained how the IITA agriculture apprenticeship scheme, ENABLE (Empowering Novel Agri-Business-Led Employment) Youth, had changed her perception about agriculture, describing the sector as a viable earner.
Two years ago, Asaaju kept late nights serving drinks at a bar. Now her late nights are about thought-provoking assignments that must result in food solutions.
“I would like to thank the African Development Bank for the support. Like many other youths, when I graduated from the university, I couldn’t find an idle job, so I took on the job of a waitress. I was learning some skills. More than anything else, I wanted to engage in something more challenging. The job wasn’t giving me that. I learnt about the youth agripreneur programme when I had to serve food and drinks to a group of young people at a party at IITA. I have had the opportunity of joining the group. These young people happen to be the notable IITA youth agripreneurs that you see in the hall today, who today are my colleagues,” she said to the rousing applause from participants.
So far Assaju and her team have been trained in value addition, business development and soft skills. She is now able to convert farm produce into finished products, and has had the opportunity of representing the group at two international conferences, in South Africa and the United States.
“These have helped build my capacity professionally. In February this year, I was transferred with some colleagues to the IITA station in Onne, Rivers State. Rivers is an oil-producing state, but we have taken agri-business there – not to compete, but because we must go back to the basics. In a space of 10 months, we have been able to establish demonstration plots in cassava, rice and plantain. We are into the production of catfish and plantain suckers. So far we have been able to involve 40 rural youths in our activities,” she noted.
She said her team is currently unable to meet its market demands for cassava and catfish, which she considers a good platform for investment.
She declared: “We, the youths, have decided to lead this agri-business movement, not only to create job opportunities, but also to restore the strength of Nigeria as the giant of Africa and to have Africa be the bread basket of the world.”
Just like Assaju, other youths in the agri-business apprenticeship scheme – Mercy Wakawa and Zacchaeus Isuwa – were emphatic in their testimonies.
Youth engagement in agri-business through the IITA has shown that the generation does have a role to play in changing the face of farming in Africa, they said.
The annual African Economic Conference is organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the UN Economic Commission of Africa (ECA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
ENABLE Youth is a programme for young African people (18-35 years old) wanting to start a business in the agricultural sector, borne out of the African Development Bank’s Dakar High Level Conference on Agricultural Transformation in Africa and with the support of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, which is headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria. The programme works to promote, enhance, and modernize agricultural entrepreneurship in Africa. In order to do this, the African Development Bank offers its support in capacity strengthening, promoting professionals working in agriculture, and financing projects of young people in the sector.
ENABLE Youth is working to help launch 300,000 agribusinesses and create 8 million jobs in some 30 African countries over the next five years. Above all, it is counting on young people to develop Africa’s agricultural future, an African agriculture that relies on innovation, technologies, and modernization of techniques and practices, as well as on the development of the value chain in the sector.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Arab Emirates has announced its decision to quit the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to focus on national interests.
This dealt a heavy blow to the oil-exporting group at a time when the US-Israel war on Iran had caused a historic energy shock and rattled the global economy.
The move, which will take effect on May 1, 2026, reflects “the UAE’s long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile”, a statement carried by state media said on Tuesday.
“During our time in the organisation, we made significant contributions and even greater sacrifices for the benefit of all,” it added. “However, the time has come to focus our efforts on what our national interest dictates.”
The loss of the UAE, a longstanding OPEC member, could create disarray and weaken the oil cartel, which has usually sought to show a united front despite internal disagreements over a range of issues from geopolitics to production quotas.
UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei said the decision was taken after a careful look at the regional power’s energy strategies.
“This is a policy decision. It has been done after a careful look at current and future policies related to the level of production,” the minister said.
OPEC’s Gulf producers have already been struggling to ship exports through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally pass, because of threats and attacks against vessels during the war.
The UAE had been a member of OPEC first through its emirate of Abu Dhabi in 1967 and later when it became its own country in 1971.
The oil cartel, based in Vienna, has seen some of its market power wane as the US has increased its production of crude oil in recent years.
Additionally, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have increasingly competed over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area.
The two countries had joined a coalition to fight against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis in 2015. However, that coalition broke down into recriminations in late December when Saudi Arabia bombed what it described as a weapons shipment bound for Yemeni separatists backed by the UAE.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc bested four price decliners on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, April 27. The alternative stock market opened the week bullish during the session with a 0.03 per cent uptick.
According to data, the security depository company added N2.61 to its share price to close at N76.26 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N78.87 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the platform increased by N820 million to N2.425 trillion from N2.424 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 1.38 points to finish at 4,053.97 points compared with the 4,052.58 points it ended last Friday.
The four price losers were led by NASD Plc, which slumped by N3.80 to sell at N34.70 per share versus N38.50 per share. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc fell by N1.45 to N98.10 per unit from N99.55 per unit, Food Concepts Plc slid by 27 Kobo to N2.43 per share from N2.70 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc dipped by 9 Kobo to N2.91 per unit from N3.00 per unit.
The value of securities transacted by market participants went down by 82.0 per cent to N7.4 million from N41.3 million units, the volume of securities declined by 28.5 per cent to 319,831 units from 447,403 units, and the number of deals dropped by 34.1 per cent to 29 deals from 44 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units sold for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Also, GNI Plc was the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with a turnover of 400 million units worth N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The first trading day of the week in the currency market was bearish for the Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, April 27.
Yesterday, it lost N5.80 or 0.43 per cent against the United States Dollar to trade at N1,364.24/$1, in contrast to the N1,358.44/$1 it was traded last Friday.
In the same vein, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N13.70 to close at N1,847.72/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,834.02/£1, and slumped against the Euro by N11.56 to sell at N1,602.29/€1 versus N1,590.73/€1.
Also, the Nigerian Naira tumbled against the greenback during the trading day by N5 to quote at N1,385/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,380/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it traded flat at N1,370/$1.
The poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to liquidity shortage at the official currency market on Monday, which came amid surging demand for international payments. At $76.50 million, interbank liquidity printed higher across 79 deals, up from the $43.572 million reported on Friday.
Nigeria’s gross external reserves declined to $48.45 billion amid a month-long decline in inflows, amid uncertainties in the global commodity market. The depletion of foreign reserves could be partly attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in the FX market.
The market remains perturbed by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market, while boosters, including oil prices, continue to look rocky due to stalled discussions and unclear ceasefire negotiations between the US and Iran.
A look at the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) has been rejected near $79,000 three times in eight sessions, leaving the level as the de facto ceiling of its current trading range even as major cryptocurrencies trade lower over the past day. It lost 0.9 per cent to sell at $77,003.61.
Analysts say that upcoming US Federal Reserve policy decisions and top tech firms’ earnings this week could provide the catalyst to push bitcoin decisively above $80,000.
The market also continued to weigh Iran’s interim deal proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which failed to advance over the weekend. The White House said US officials were discussing the latest Iranian proposal but maintained “red lines” on any deal to end the eight-week war.
Solana (SOL) dropped 1.8 per cent to $84.25, Ripple (XRP) went down by 1.6 per cent to $1.39, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $2,290.00, Binance Coin (BNB) declined by 0.5 per cent to $625.18, and Cardano (ADA) fell by 0.2 per cent to $0.2480.
However, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 2.0 per cent to $0.1002, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3242, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
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