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Agric will Produce Africa’s Next Billionaires—AfDB

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** Makes Case for Young Farmers

By Dipo Olowookere

If the world can support young farmers in Africa, the problem of youth employment plaguing the continent would be solved.

That was the submission of the African Development Bank (AfDB), which wants global support for Africa’s young farmers and “agripreneurs”, highlighting how agribusiness can achieve this goal.

In collaboration with the Initiative for Global Development, the Association of African Agricultural Professionals in the Diaspora (AAAPD), Michigan State University, Iowa State University, and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, the AfDB brought together stakeholders to discuss how to expand economic opportunities for Africa’s youth throughout the agricultural value chain, from lab to farm to fork.

The session titled “Making Farming Cool: Investing in future African farmers and Agripreneurs” was held on the sideline of the 2017 World Food Prize Symposium-Borlaug Dialogue in Des Moines, Iowa, and had in attendance young entrepreneurs from Africa, private sector representatives, policymakers and thought leaders.

Africa has the world’s youngest population with 60 percent being under 35 years old. There are 420 million youth aged 15-35 and this segment of the population is expected to double to 840 million by 2040.

Working with the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the AfDB is empowering young farmers under the Empowering Novel Agri-Business-Led Employment (ENABLE) Youth program.

“Africa’s next billionaires are not going to come from oil, gas, or the extractives. ENABLE Youth is about investing in small agribusinesses today so that they can grow into large enterprises tomorrow,” President Adesina said.

“By empowering youth at each stage of the agribusiness value chain, we enable them to establish viable and profitable agribusinesses, jobs and better incomes for themselves and their communities.”

He explained how attracting a new cadre of young, energetic and talented agripreneurs – who will drive the adoption of new technologies throughout the value chain, raise productivity and meet rising food demands – is an urgent priority.

Recent studies indicate that as African economies transform, there are expanding opportunities for youth employment and entrepreneurship throughout high-potential value chains – literally from lab to fork – where consumer demand is increasing, including horticulture, dairy, oilseeds, poultry and aquaculture.

In addition, there are huge opportunities for engaging African youth in services and logistical sectors in key off-farm activities such as transportation, packaging, ICT and other technology development and light infrastructure – that add value to on-farm productivity and efficiency, in ways that could not envisioned before.

The whole idea of connecting farms to markets, particularly rising urban and regional markets, is where Africa needs to plug in this bulging youth population, Mr Adesina said.

The Bank President highlighted major efforts needed to provide young Africans with new business opportunities, modern and practical skills, access to new technologies, land, equipment and finance that will allow them to transition from subsistence livelihood into higher-paying work, whether these are on or off the farm.

In his words, “This is how we intend to make farming cool!”

Through the ENABLE Youth program, the AfDB and its partners are empowering youth at each stage of the agribusiness value chain with plans to train 10,000 agriculture entrepreneurs, or “agripreneurs”, in African countries, launching at least 300,000 enterprises and creating 1.5 million jobs over the next 5 years.

Africa already has shining examples of successful youth agripreneurs, nine of whom were in the room as Mr Adesina spoke.

He cited three examples of the thousands of young agripreneurs whose fascinating stories fill him with a sense of hope and urgency.

“We need to effectively utilize this African diaspora in the same way done by the Asian countries by leveraging on their expertise to fast-track Africa’s development agenda and allow all Africans to contribute, regardless of whether they are based locally within the African continent, or outside,” Mr Adesina noted.

On agribusiness as a solution to Africa’s youth unemployment, Jennifer Blanke, AfDB’s Vice-President, Agriculture, Human and Social Development, called for access to finance for the youth agripreneurs by re-aligning incentives for commercial banks and other financial institutions to reduce lending risks.

“There are over 15 job groups along the whole agricultural value chain – from farm to fork,” she said.

Noel Mulinganya, a young agripreneur and leader of the Kalambo Youth Agripreneurs (a group of 20 young graduates aged between 25-35 years old from different academic backgrounds engaged in collective agribusiness enterprises), spoke of the need for funding opportunities for young African farmers.

“My aspiration and those of my colleagues is to become business builders,” he said. “We would like this program to be a platform for sharing our knowledge and experiences in order to touch and engage youths as much as we can in agribusinesses.”

Lilian Uwintwali, whose firm provides ICT platforms that serve over 10,000 farmers in Rwanda − linking farmers to markets, banks, insurance companies and extension services, said, “I aspire to get partnerships and investment opportunities here in the USA and I believe the discussions here at conference will help me shape a better business model for my project, m-lima, in Rwanda.”

She speaks of how farming could generate income for African youth.

“I am talking from experience because it has sustained me for the past 5 years,” she said.

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via [email protected]

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Economy

Unlisted Securities Exchange Suffers 0.20% Loss at Midweek

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unlisted securities exchange

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.20 per cent decline on Wednesday, February 5, with the market capitalisation going down by N3.50 billion to N1.779 trillion from the N1.782 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) losing 6.19 points to settle at 3,140.55 points, in contrast to the previous day’s 3,146.74 points.

The loss suffered by the unlisted securities exchange was caused by a fall in the price of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) by N1.83 as its value ended at N22.00 per share versus Tuesday’s closing price of N23.83 per share.

It upturned the gains recorded by four other stocks on the trading platform.

Business Post reports that Food Concepts Plc appreciated by 14 Kobo to N1.56 per unit from N1.42 per unit, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 2 Kobo to quote at 40 Kobo per share versus 38 Kobo per share, Mixta Real Estate Plc improved by 13 Kobo to N2.96 per unit from N2.83 per unit, and  Afriland Properties Plc rose by 27 Kobo to N16.52 per share from N16.25 per share.

Yesterday, the volume of transactions went up by 19.3 per cent to 10.1 million units from 8.5 million units, the value of trades depreciated by 0.6 per cent to N13.5 million from N13.6 million, and the number of deals decreased by 41.4 per cent to 17 deals from 29 deals.

At the close of business, Impresit Bakolori Plc was the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 519.5 million units worth N504.3 million, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc was in the second position with 6.2 million units valued at N245.0 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc was in third with 9.3 million units sold for N44.8 million.

Similarly, Impresit Bakolori Plc was also the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 519.5 million units worth N504.3 million, trailed by IGI Plc with 42.4 million units sold for N12.9 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.3 million units valued at N44.8 million.

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Naira Trades N1,499/$1 at Official Market, N1,590/$1 at Black Market

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more wealth for investors Naira

By Adedapo Adesanya

The value of the Naira continued to tumble against against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) amid the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the window of allowing Bureau De Change (BDC) operators to buy FX from the official market until the end of May.

This policy allows BDCs to purchase $25,000 worth of forex per week and should not resell to their customers at a profit margin above one per cent.

The intention of this scheme is to quell huge forex demand in the black amrket, speculative activity, and ensure proper oversight.

At the spot market on Wednesday, February 5, the Nigerian currency weakened against the greenback by 0.05 per cent or 81 Kobo to N1,499.76/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,498.95/$1.

It was the third time the local currency was depreciating in value this week.

In the same official market, the domestic currency traded flat against the British Pound Sterling and the Euro at N1,868.17/£1 and N1,553.41/€1, respectively.

In the black market, the Nigerian Naira, however, appreciated against the US Dollar at midweek by N15 to sell for N1,590/$1, in contrast to Tuesday’s exchange rate of N1,605/$1.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish yesterday after Mr Eric Trump, son of US President Donald Trump, encouraged the family backed crypto platform to invest in Bitcoin (BTC).

Early this week, President Trump’s AI and crypto czar, Mr David Sacks, said the Trump administration is evaluating the feasibility of a strategic bitcoin reserve, disappointing crypto investors anticipating a swift action on the issue.

Litecoin (LTC) gained 6.3 per cent to sell at $108.22, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 3.7 per cent to $2,844.58, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 2.6 per cent to $0.7632, Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 1.2 per cent to $581.16, BTC rose by 0.6 per cent to $98,325.95, and Dogecoin (DOGE) increased by 0.2 per cent to $0.2651.

On the flip side, Ripple (XRP) dropped 1.6 per cent to close at $2.46, and Solana (SOL) recorded a 0.8 per cent depreciation to settle at $203.60, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.

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Economy

Brent Crude Slides Below $75 Per Barrel as US Stockpiles Rise

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brent crude oil

By Adedapo Adesanya

Brent crude fell below $75 per barrel on Wednesday, shedding $1.59 or 2.09 per cent to trade at $74.61 per barrel as a large build in US crude stockpiles signalled weaker demand.

Also, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down $1.67 or 2.3 per cent to quote at $71.03 per barrel as the US Energy Information Administration said yesterday that crude oil inventories rose sharply last week in the world’s largest producer as refiners facing soft gasoline (petrol) demand did maintenance work.

Inventories in the US saw a colossal build of 8.7 million barrels during the week ending January 31 after the American Petroleum Industry (API) issued its latest estimates on crude oil and crude oil products inventories showing that crude oil inventories had risen by a whopping 5.025 million barrels for the week on Tuesday.

For total motor gasoline (petrol), the EIA estimated that inventories rose by 2.2 million barrels for the week to January 31, with production averaging 9.2 million barrels daily. This compares with an inventory rise of 3.0 million barrels for the previous week and an average daily production of 9.2 million barrels daily.

For middle distillates, the EIA estimated an inventory fall of 5.5 million barrels for last week, with production averaging 4.6 million barrels daily. This compares to an inventory loss of 5 million barrels for the week prior when production stood at an average of 4.7 million barrels daily.

Meanwhile, worries about a new China-US trade war fueled fears of softer economic growth.

On Tuesday, China announced tariffs on imports of U.S. oil, liquefied natural gas and coal in retaliation for US levies on Chinese exports.

Market analysts noted that China putting a tariff on US imports will reduce the demand for those commodities, which need to be redirected into another market.

Iran has also urged its fellow members in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to unite against possible US sanctions after President Trump said he would restore the maximum pressure campaign on Iran that he enacted in his first term.

If this happens, the resulting supply squeeze could sustain the upward momentum in oil prices, particularly amid slower than expected supply adjustments from OPEC+ producers.

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