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 Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) experienced a pullback of 0.69 per cent as a result of profit-taking by investors, with shares in the banking and energy sectors mostly affected.
Data harvested by Business Post showed that the energy index was down by 4.58 per cent during the session, and the banking space lost 2.14 per cent.
They brought down the All-Share Index (ASI) by 1,402.56 points to 201,156.85 points from 202,559.41 points and shrank the market capitalisation by N900 billion to N129.126 trillion from N130.026 trillion.
Customs Street ended in red at midweek despite three of the five key sectors finishing in green. The consumer goods counter expanded by 1.19 per cent, the industrial goods index improved by 0.46 per cent, and the insurance sector grew by 0.43 per cent.
Red Star Express declined by 9.98 per cent to N25.70, Aradel Holdings went down by 9.68 per cent to N1,210.30, Presco lost 9.30 per cent to trade at N1,701.10, Living Trust Mortgage Bank crashed by 8.40 per cent to N4.80, and DAAR Communications dropped 7.50 per cent to end at N1.85.
On the flip side, Secure Electronic Technology gained 10.00 per cent to settle at N1.32, Guinness Nigeria rose by 9.92 per cent to N423.20, John Holt increased by 9.72 per cent to N11.85, Sovereign Trust Insurance surged by 9.57 per cent to N2.06, and Linkage Assurance chalked up 9.33 per cent to trade at N1.64.
Investor sentiment was weak yesterday after the bourse registered 33 price gainers and 38 price losers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
Market participants bought and sold 6.1 billion stocks valued at N130.1 billion in 58,562 deals compared with the 1.8 billion stocks worth N88.1 billion traded in 62,654 deals on Tuesday, representing a shortfall in the number of deals by 6.53 per cent, and a spike in the trading volume and value by 238.89 per cent and 47.67 per cent apiece.
The most active equity on Wednesday was eTranzact with 5.2 billion units sold for N24.3 billion, Wema Bank exchanged 111.4 million units worth N3.1 billion, Coronation Insurance transacted 96.4 million units valued at N303.9 million, Dangote Cement traded 75.2 million units for N56.5 billion, and Access Holdings exchanged 61.5 million units valued at N1.6 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira stumbled against the Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, March 18, by N8.96 or 0.67 per cent to trade at N1,353.00/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,344.04/$1.
Also, the local currency weakened against the Pound Sterling in the spot market at midweek by N6.06 to sell for N1,801.93/£1 compared with Tuesday’s value of N1,795.87/£1, and lost N4.75 against the Euro to quote at N1,556.22/€1 versus the preceding day’s N1,551.46/€1.
However, the Nigerian currency gained N2 against the greenback yesterday at the GTBank forex desk to close at N1,363/$1 versus the N1,365/$1 it was exchanged for a day earlier, and traded flat in the parallel market at N1,395/$1.
Nigeria’s external reserves fell by $178 million over three consecutive international payments recorded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), settling at $49.83 billion from $50.008 billion, indicating that there have been some interventions in the FX market for stability and liquidity.
While the wider outlook for the Naira is positive, potential disruptions to global oil supply have increased volatility in energy markets and could spike inflation with higher oil prices.
In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) slipped below $71,000 on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell flagged rising oil prices amid the war in Iran as a new inflation risk. It sold at $70,538.58.
The US central bank held interest rates steady as expected, but during his post-meeting press conference, Mr Powell acknowledged that the recent surge in energy prices is already feeding into the central bank’s outlook.
He said rising oil prices “for sure showed up” in policymakers’ higher inflation outlook for this year, lifting their forecast to 2.7 per cent from 2.4 per cent.
Further, Ethereum (ETH) lost 6.3 per cent to trade at $2,178.56, Cardano (ADA) fell by 6.1 per cent to $0.2714, Dogecoin (DOGE) dropped 5.7 per cent to close at $0.0096, Solana (SOL) dipped 4.8 per cent to $89.83, Ripple (XRP) slumped by 3.8 per cent to $1.46, and Binance Coin (BNB) declined by 3.7 per cent to $648.61.
However, TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.4 per cent to $0.3037, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Brent crude moved higher by 4.27 per cent to $112.00 per barrel on Wednesday as Iran attacked several energy facilities across the Middle East, creating a major escalation in its war with the United States and Israel.
Also, the US West Texas Intermediate grew by 2.73 per cent to $98.95, as the Middle East conflict continues to escalate, and energy infrastructure is targeted across the Gulf, as Iran hit energy infrastructure across the Middle East in retaliation for earlier strikes on its South Pars gas field.
Qatar confirmed that Iranian missile strikes had caused “extensive damage” around the Ras Laffan industrial complex, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility and a cornerstone of global gas supply.
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) suspended operations at its Habshan gas facility after missile-related incidents, with debris from intercepted projectiles reportedly affecting additional energy infrastructure, including the Bab oil field.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Bahrain continue to be targeted by Iran, with Saudi Arabia reporting that air defences had destroyed a total of 19 drones in the Eastern Province and four missiles launched toward Riyadh.
Earlier on Wednesday, Iran issued an evacuation warning for several energy facilities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, saying they would be targeted by strikes “in the coming hours.”
Shipping also remained under threat, with the UK’s maritime security agency reporting that a vessel east of the Strait of Hormuz caught fire after being struck by an “unknown projectile.”
The war has halted shipments via the Strait of Hormuz, which handles 20 per cent of global oil and LNG supply. Total oil output cuts in the Middle East are estimated at 7 million to 10 million barrels per day, or 7 per cent to 10 per cent of global demand.
To ease worries, the administration of US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a 60-day waiver of the Jones Act shipping law, temporarily allowing foreign-flagged vessels to move fuel, fertiliser, and other goods between US ports.
It is also working on measures that could help slow the surge in fuel prices in the US, but are unlikely to have much of an effect on global energy prices.
In Iraq, the North Oil Company said crude exports from Iraq’s Kirkuk fields to Turkey’s Ceyhan port have resumed via pipeline, after Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government agreed to restart flows. The company said exports would resume with an initial capacity of 250,000 barrels per day.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude inventories rose by 6.2 million barrels to 449.3 million barrels in the week ended March 13.
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