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 NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange ended the first trading day of the week on a positive note, with a 0.39 per cent appreciation on Monday, May 25.
The positive vibe raised the market capitalisation of the trading platform by N10.11 billion to N2.571 trillion from last Friday’s N2.561 trillion, and lifted the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 16.89 points to 4,298.17 points from the previous 4,281.28 points.
Business Post reports that the bourse recorded three appreciating securities and one depreciating stock at the close of transactions, with the sole price decliner being 11 Plc, which lost N23.43 to sell at N221.10 per share compared with the preceding session’s N244.53 per share.
Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N3.78 yesterday to trade at N74.85 per unit versus the previous price of N71.07 per unit, NASD Plc improved its price by N2.86 to N37.36 per share from N34.50 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by 33 Kobo to N180.00 per unit from N179.67 per unit.
The volume of trades jumped by 153.1 per cent during the session to 59.2 million units from the preceding session’s 590,339 units, but the value of transactions fell by 37.9 per cent to N59.3 million from the N95.3 million achieved last Friday, and the number of deals contracted by 10 per cent to 27 deals from 30 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 61.2 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded equity 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 valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended in the green territory on Monday after it chalked up 0.57 per cent on the back of renewed buying interest in financial equities.
The local stock exchange witnessed the insurance and the banking counters closing higher by 0.54 per cent and 0.08 per cent, respectively, amid profit-taking in the others. The energy index shed 1.77 per cent and the consumer goods sector depreciated by 0.26 per cent, while the industrial goods industry was flat.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 1,412.65 points to 251,125.02 points from 249,712.37 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N906 billion to N160.983 trillion from N160.077 trillion.
Investor sentiment was bullish yesterday after Customs Street ended with 35 price gainers and 30 price losers, indicating a positive market breadth index.
Airtel Africa surged 10.00 per cent to N3,655.70, International Energy Insurance advanced by 9.68 per cent to N3.74, Sovereign Trust Insurance went up by 9.65 per cent to N2.50, Caverton rose by 9.63 per cent to N7.40, and VFD Group gained 9.55 per cent to close at N10.90.
Conversely, McNichols lost 10.00 per cent to finish at N7.20, The Initiates dropped 9.91 per cent to trade at N30.45, Learn Africa slipped by 9.69 per cent to N11.65, Zichis crashed by 7.93 per cent to N30.98, and May and Baker declined by 6.60 per cent to N46.70.
During the trading day, market participants transacted 629.4 million shares worth N40.9 billion in 82,434 deals compared with the 711.9 million shares valued at 29.1 billion traded in 62,386 deals last Friday, implying a decline in the trading volume by 11.59 per cent, and a rise in the trading value and number of deals by 40.55 per cent and 32.14 per cent, respectively.
Access Holdings was the busiest equity for the session with a turnover of 61.3 million units valued at N1.5 billion. Zenith Bank traded 37.9 million units worth N5.0 billion, Fidelity Bank sold 35.8 million units for N851.2 million, Japaul exchanged 24.7 million units valued at N90.9 million, and Tantalizers transacted 22.8 million units worth N103.2 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) by 54 Kobo or 0.04 per cent on Monday, May 25, to trade at N1,374.92/$1 compared to last Friday’s value of N1,375.46/$1.
However, it further depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N6.01 to sell for N1,855.73/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,849.72/£1 and lost N158.02 against the Euro to close at N1,755.06/€1, in contrast to the N1,590.04/€1 it was traded last Friday.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira weakened against the United States Dollar at the GTBank FX counter yesterday by N2 to quote at N1,383/$1 versus N1,381/$1, and gained N5 in the parallel market to settle at N1,385/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,390/$1.
The performance of the domestic currency comes as the external reserves inched higher to $48.72 billion, indicating a complex mix of sustained FX demand pressures and modest reserve accretion.
The movement in the FX market underscores the continued tension between demand-side pressure and policy-driven attempts to stabilise the naira.
While recent monetary tightening measures by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have helped to moderate extreme volatility, market participants are struggling to navigate a landscape shaped by intermittent dollar inflows, import-related demand and shifting investor sentiment.
As for the cryptocurrency market, most tokens were up amid optimism of a near-term US-Iran peace deal, as Iranian negotiators arrived in Doha, Qatar, for talks.
The Strait of Hormuz has been largely blockaded since the US and Israel struck Iran on February 28, though traffic has partially resumed in recent days. The agenda would include the reopening as well as uranium control.
TRON (TRX) rose by 1.8 per cent to $0.3714, Cardano (ADA) added 1.2 per cent to trade at $0.2444, Bitcoin (BTC) improved by 0.9 per cent to $77,283.62, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.8 per cent to $661.30, and Ripple (XRP) increased by 0.8 per cent to $1.35.
Further, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 0.7 per cent to $2,018.82, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.6 per cent to $85.37, and Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 0.6 per cent to $0.1001, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn