Economy
FG Charges Researchers on Potato Value Chain
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has tasked research institutes, agencies and development partners in the sector to create solutions to the numerous challenges besetting the country’s potato value chain.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Sabo Nanono, gave this charge in his address during a workshop with potato value chain stakeholders in Osogbo, Osun State.
The event was on the adoption and utilisation of Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) and he said new technologies and innovations should be developed to further improve production.
Mr Nanono, who was represented by the Director of the Federal Department of Agriculture, Mrs Karima Babangida, said that OFSP has both economic and health benefits to Nigerians.
He said, “It has come to the knowledge of the Ministry the immense Wealth and Health benefits in Potato production, especially Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) and as such the Ministry is willing to explore these opportunities within the Value Chain in furtherance to achieving food nutrition and security for our beloved country.
“The primary objective of convening this stakeholder workshop is to create a forum for the stakeholders/major actors in the Potato Value Chain to chart a way forward for the realization of the fullest potentials locked up in potato production, processing/utilization and marketing.”
Mr Nanono added that the potato value chain has been facing many challenges right from the seed system stage.
“Several challenges have been identified in the potato value chain; right from the seed system protocols to the marketing of the produce.
“The challenges are quite enormous, but however, not one that is insurmountable. Therefore, all hands must be on deck to achieving this feat. There is no formal seed system for Potato, and it’s been a major drawback in the development of the Value Chain in the country.
“In achieving the above, please be informed that the Ministry is willing to contribute to the development of the Potato Value Chain through its various Agencies and Research institutes with mandates on rendering technical support.
“The Ministry has quite a number of support services that farmers and processors can benefit from. Farm inputs such as; agro-chemicals, farm equipment and machinery) are available at subsidized rates at the Ministry.
“I want to use this medium to urge the various Research Institutes, Agencies and Development partners with mandates on the Potato to work assiduously in creating solutions to the numerous challenges besetting the Value Chain, as well as new technologies and innovations to further improve production,” the Minister stated.
The Minister, while informing the participants at the workshop held on Thursday, April 1, said that the Ministry had earlier convened two regional meetings on Sweet potato in the South-South, Calabar, Cross River State and North-East, Yola, Adamawa State.
He noted that a sensitization meeting would be held in three geopolitical zones of the country, that is the (North-West, North-Central and South-East) regions respectively before convening a National Stakeholders workshop in no distant future.
Mr Nanono charged the ADP’s and the various Potato Commodity Association/Farmers to embrace new innovations such as; the Farmers Business School (FBS); Cooperative Business School (CBS); and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) to improve their all-round farming activities as a means to strengthen their capacity in production and marketing.
In his remarks, the Ministry’s state director, Engr. Atoyebi O. Sunday, said that asides from the wealth potentials of processing OFSP into various confectioneries such as Chin-chin, juice, biscuits, cake, flour, bread among others, its health benefits cannot be overemphasized.
Mr Sunday said that OFSP is known to have enough nutritional values to supply the vitamin A requirement for children between the ages of 6 months to five years, support pregnant and lactating mothers and also help boost the immune system of the elderly.
He said, “The purpose of this meeting is to provide solutions to many challenges facing the popularization and adoption of the OFSP among the Nigerian farmers and processors nationwide.
“With this, I believe the resolutions of this meeting will help the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to plan adequately for ways of supporting potato farmers and processors nationwide.
“In view of the above, it is expedient for all of us to make use of this opportunity to cross-fertilize ideas and offer suggestions that will help in changing the narratives of low adoption and utilization of OFSP in Nigeria and also based on the information and knowledge gathered from the workshops; become an advocate of OFSP in our various communities and states.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Five securities pulled down the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.72 per cent on Friday, August 14, cutting the market capitalisation by N47.04 billion to N2.689 trillion from N2.727 trillion, and slicing the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 78.37 points to 4,465.83 from 4,532.03 points.
11 Plc led the price decliners yesterday after its price went down by N15.03 to N230.00 per share from N245.03 per share. MRS Oil Plc weakened by N13.20 to N118.80 per unit from N132.00 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc slid by N10.30 to N99.46 per share from N109.76 per share, Okitipupa Plc fell by N6.99 to N270.01 per unit from N277.00 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc dipped by N2.00 to N20.00 per share from N22.00 per share.
Business Post reports that the OTC securities exchange recorded four gainers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which appreciated by N9.85 to N169.85 per unit from N160.00 per unit. IPWA Plc gained 70 Kobo to close at N10.41 per share versus N9.71 per share, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc rose by 4 Kobo to 54 Kobo per unit from 50 Kobo per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc improved by 1 Kobo to N2.06 per share from N2.05 per share.
The volume of trades soared by 64.8 per cent to 3.2 million units from the previous session’s 1.9 million units, the value of transactions jumped by 78.2 per cent to N375.7 million from N210.8 million, and the number of deals surged by 35.3 per cent to 46 deals from 34 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 79.0 million units exchanged for N5.7 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The dominance of the bears on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited was consolidated on Friday, after further inflicting an 0.12 per cent loss at the close of trading activity.
All the key sectors of the local stock market turned red yesterday as a result of sustained profit-taking, though the industrial goods space was flat.
The insurance counter lost 1.49 per cent, the energy index shed 0.63 per cent, the consumer goods segment declined by 0.46 per cent, and the banking sector tumbled by 0.23 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) retreated by 398.18 points to 242,619.20 points from 243,017.38 points, and the market capitalisation receded by N257 billion to N156.624 trillion from N156.881 trillion.
Fortis Global Insurance lost 9.31 per cent to trade at N2.63, Omatek depreciated by 9.04 per cent to N1.51, John Holt slipped by 9.00 per cent to N9.10, RT Briscoe slumped by 7.94 per cent to N11.60, and Dangote Sugar went down by 7.79 per cent to N64.55.
But International Energy Insurance gained 9.92 per cent to sell for N5.32, Trans-Nationwide Express appreciated by 9.65 per cent to N2.84, Guinea Insurance improved by 6.67 per cent to 80 Kobo, Regency Alliance grew by 6.25 per cent to 85 Kobo, and Japaul jumped by 5.36 per cent to N2.95.
The market breadth index remained negative, with 30 price losers and 21 price gainers, indicating weak investor sentiment.
The level of activity contracted yesterday, with the trading volume, value, and number of deals down by 66.67 per cent, 10.65 per cent, and 5.60 per cent, respectively.
This was because market participants transacted 1.4 billion shares worth N45.3 billion in 39,134 deals during the session compared with the 4.2 billion shares valued at n50.7 billion traded in 41,454 deals on Thursday.
Fortis Global Insurance was the most active equity for the day, with a turnover of 874.1 million units valued at N2.4 billion, Cornerstone Insurance sold 100.3 million units worth N506.5 million, Universal Insurance traded 56.7 million units for N44.5 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 53.3 million units worth N402.9 million, and MTN Nigeria transacted 44.6 million units valued at N31.4 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira maintained stability against the United States Dollar in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Friday, August 14, according to data obtained by Business Post.
At the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), the local currency remained unchanged at N1,357.65/$1, but lost N6.05 against the Pound Sterling to trade at N1,840.10 versus the previous session’s N1,834.05/£1, and depreciated against the Euro by N4.70 to sell for N1,571.70/€1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,567.00/€1.
At the black market, the Nigerian currency traded flat against the Dollar at N1,395/$1, but gained N3 at the GTBank forex desk to quote at N1,364/$1 versus Thursday’s exchange rate of N1,367/$1.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that interbank FX transactions surged by 51.2 per cent to $119.594 million from $79.097 million. These transactions were executed in 137 deals, higher than the 98 deals recorded a day earlier.
FX inflows from exporters, remittances and other sources, alongside demand from importers and individuals requiring Dollars, continue to shape market conditions.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market recovered yesterday after experiencing a downturn in the previous sessions following reports that index provider MSCI has proposed new “non-operating company” screens for its Global Investable Market Indexes. Although the framework does not explicitly target cryptocurrency, it evaluates whether a company’s core operating assets constitute more than 50 per cent of its total holdings.
Heavy digital asset treasury adopters, including Strategy and Metaplanet, fail the proposed criteria and face potential removal during upcoming index rebalancings. While inclusion in major equity benchmarks previously allowed passive index funds and ETFs to automatically acquire these stocks, their removal could trigger forced institutional selling.
Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.7 per cent to $0.07, Binance Coin (BNB) expanded by 0.6 per cent to $611.34, Ethereum (ETH) added 0.4 per cent to trade at $1,879.65, and Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 0.2 per cent to $63,045.87, with Ripple (XRP), the US Dollar Tether (USDT), and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) flat at $1.00, respectively.
But Cardano (ADA) lost 1.2 per cent to trade at $0.1795, TRON (TRX) shed 0.4 per cent to finish at $0.3323, and Solana (SOL) declined by 0.2 per cent to $75.60.
