Economy
Africa’s Food, Agric Market to Hit $1tr by 2030—Adesina
By Dipo Olowookere
President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Mr Akinwumi Adesina, has made a strong case for increased American and global investments to help unlock Africa’s agriculture potential.
He made the remarks as the Distinguished Guest Speaker, at the USDA’s 94th Agriculture Outlook Forum in Virginia on Thursday, on the theme The Roots of Prosperity.
According to Mr Adesina, “For too long, Agriculture has been associated with what I call the three Ps – pain, penury, and poverty. The fact though is that agriculture is a huge wealth-creating sector that is primed to unleash new economic opportunities that will lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.”
Participants at the Forum included the Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue; Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Stephen Censky; President of the World Food Prize Foundation, Kenneth Quinn; Chief Economist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Robert Johansson; Deputy Chief Economist, Warren Preston; and several top level government officials and private sector operators.
Mr Adesina appealed to the US private sector to fundamentally change the way it views African agriculture.
“Think about it, the size of the food and agriculture market in Africa will rise to $1 trillion by 2030. This is the time for US agri-businesses to invest in Africa,” he said.
“And for good reason: Think of a continent where McKinsey projects household consumption is expected to reach nearly $2.1 trillion and business-to-business expenditure will reach $3.5 trillion by 2025. Think of a continent brimming with 840 million youth, the youngest population in the world, by 2050,” he added.
The US government was urged to be at the forefront of efforts to encourage fertilizer and seed companies, manufacturers of tractors and equipment, irrigation and ICT farm analytics to ramp up their investments on the continent.
“As the nation that first inspired me and then welcomed me with open arms, permit me to say that I am here to seek a partnership with America: a genuine partnership to help transform agriculture in Africa, and by so doing unlock the full potential of agriculture in Africa, unleash the creation of wealth that will lift millions out of poverty in Africa, while creating wealth and jobs back home right here in America,” the 2017 World Food Prize Laureate told the Forum.”
Mr Adesina told more than 2,000 delegates that the African Development Bank is spearheading a number of transformative business and agricultural initiatives.
“We are launching the Africa Investment Forum, as a 100% transactional platform, to leverage global pension funds and other institutional investors to invest in Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa from November 7-9.”
The World Bank, International Finance Corporation, the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Islamic Development Bank, are partnering with the African Investment Forum to de-risk private sector investments.
The African Development Bank is also pioneering the establishment of Staple Crop Processing Zones in 10 African countries, that are expected to transform rural economies into zones of economic prosperity and save African economies billions of dollars in much needed foreign reserves.
“We must now turn the rural areas from zones of economic misery to zones of economic prosperity. This requires a total transformation of the agriculture sector. At the core of this must be rapid agricultural industrialization. We must not just focus on primary production but on the development of agricultural value chains,” Mr Adesina added. “That way, Africa will turn from being at the bottom to the top of global value chains.”
In his keynote address US Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, said, “The U.S. Administration has removed more restrictive regulations to agriculture than any other administration. Our goal is to dismantle restrictions that have eroded agricultural business opportunities.”
“Agriculture feeds prosperity and accounts for 20 cents of every dollar. As global prosperity grows, it in turn fuels the demand for more nutritious food and business opportunities,” he added.
In his concluding remarks, Mr Adesina informed participants about a new $1 billion initiative, Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) to unlock Africa’s huge potential in the savannahs.
Expressing strong optimism that the future millionaires and billionaires of Africa will come from agriculture, Mr Adesina said:
“Together, let our roots of prosperity grow downwards and bear fruit upwards. As we do, rural Africa and rural America will brim with new life, much like I witnessed in Indiana, during my time as a graduate student in America. Then, we will have changed the 3 ‘Ps’ to – Prosperity, Prosperity and Prosperity!”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) is set to earn more revenue for the country as the federal government has positioned it to become the most capitalised company in Africa, says the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, Mr Mele Kyari.
This will happen as the central government has commenced full implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in earnest.
Mr Kyari made this assertion while addressing staff in a town hall meeting at the weekend said the PIA had put “all money-making options on the table; it is up to us to take advantage of it”.
Highlighting the significance of the PIA to the NNPC and by extension the Nigerian economy, Mr Kyari said the new legislation has raised shareholders’ expectations on the company, even as it has given it wide room to make progress.
He said as a result of the new legislation, NNPC Limited would not only shed some of its toxic liabilities but will be the largest and most capitalised company in the whole of Africa and, potentially, the most profitable on the entire continent.
The CEO charged employees of the organisation to ensure that the company becomes a commercially viable entity and a multi-billion-dollar company that will continuously deliver value to its shareholders–the over two hundred million Nigerians.
Business Post had reported that President Muhammadu Buhari recently instituted the board of NNPC Limited led by Mrs Margery Chuba Okadigbo, Chairman, Mr Mele Kolo Kyari, Chief Executive Officer, Mr Umar I. Ajiya, Chief Financial Officer, Mr Tajudeen Umar (North East), Mrs Lami O. Ahmed (North Central), Mallam Mohammed Lawal (North West), Mr Henry Obih (South East), Barrister Constance Harry Marshal (South-South), and Mr Pius Akinyelure (South West).
Others included Mr Nasir Sani Gwarzo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Mr Aliyu Ahmed, Permanent Secretary, Minister, Finance, Budget and National Planning.
The President charged the board members to enforce the reforms put forward by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which seeks to reposition the Nigerian petroleum industry to a commercially viable and competitive industry in line with global business dynamics and best practices.
“The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is mandated to focus on profitability and continuous value creation beyond the simple fulfilment of legal and regulatory requirements.
“NNPC Limited is expected to operate at par with its industry peers across the world while acting as Enabler Company that will foster the development of other sectors of our economy,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The week ended in the positive territory on the floor of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange following a 0.25 per cent rise on Friday, January 14.
The favourable outcome came on the back of gains recorded by the duo of Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc and Nipco Plc.
NDEP Plc appreciated by N2.5 or 1.1 per cent during the session to close at N238.00 per unit as against N235.50 per unit it finished at the preceding session, while Nipco Plc improved by N6 or 8.7 per cent to close at N69.00 per unit compared with N63.00 per unit it closed at the previous session.
As a result of the good performances put up by the two stocks, the NASD unlisted security index (NSI) moved up by 1.86 points to 750.02 points from 748.16 points, while market capitalisation gained N1.58 billion to wrap the day at N635.10 billion in contrast to N633.52 billion it closed on Thursday.
There was no price loser during the trading day, through the trading volume slid by 36.9 per cent as a total of 207,618 units of shares exchanged hands compared with 329,347 units transacted on Thursday.
But the trading value rose by 15.6 per cent to N10.7 million from the previous day’s value of N9.3 million, while the number of deals depreciated by 36.4 per cent as only seven deals were carried out compared to the 11 deals executed at the previous session.
Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc remained as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) as it has traded 1.02 million units of its shares for N19.9 million. Friesland Campina WAMCO Nigeria Plc was in second place for transacting 40,804 units of its stocks valued at N4.8 million, while NDEP Plc was in third place with 28,289 units valued at N6.7 million.
Also, CSCS Plc ended the session as the most traded stock by value with a turnover of 1.0 million units exchanged at N19.9 million, NDEP Plc trailed with 28,289 units worth N6.7 million, while Friesland Campina WAMCO Nigeria Plc has exchanged 40,804 units worth for N4.8 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira closed the week stronger against the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Friday, January 14.
At the I&E window, the local currency appreciated by 0.06 per cent or 50 kobo to trade at N416.00/$1 as against N416.50/$1 it closed on Thursday.
The strengthening of the local currency happened on the back of a 28.7 per cent or $49.59 million fall in turnover at the market segment as data obtained by Business Post from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that transactions worth $123.4 million were carried out compared with the $172.99 million recorded at the previous session.
However, at the interbank window of the market, the Naira recorded a flat outcome against the United States Dollar, closing at N414.79/$1, the same rate of the preceding day.
In the same vein, the domestic currency closed flat against the Pound Sterling on Friday at N565.57/£1 and against the Euro, the exchange rate of the indigenous currency remained intact at N475.22/€1.
Meanwhile, at the cryptocurrency market, six of the 10 digital currencies tracked by the newspaper across several trading platforms appreciated in value.
The highest gainer was Cardano (ADA) as it moved higher by 7.4 per cent to trade at N783.58, Tron (TRX) made a 3.8 per cent gain to sell at N40.46, Litecoin (LTC) improved by 3.5 per cent to trade at N82,485.74, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.8 per cent to sell at N450, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 0.7 per cent to trade at N205,719.75, while Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.2 per cent to trade at N105.12.
However, Dash (DASH) went down by 1.6 per cent to sell for N80,050.10, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 0.5 per cent to sell at N1,896,100.03, the United States Dollar Tether moved down by 0.3 per cent to trade at N783.58, while Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 0.2 per cent to quote at N24,576,842.26.
-
Feature/OPED2 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Economy5 years ago
Kwara Disburses N1.7b For Projects
-
Travel/Tourism5 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Technology1 year agoHow To Link Your MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile Lines to NIN
-
Economy5 years agoHow To Identify Fake Naira Notes
-
Banking4 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy4 years agoNSE Market Capitalisation Sheds N76b as Sell‐offs Persist
-
Economy4 years agoFAAC: FG, States, LGs Share N655.18b in January