Economy
FG Maps Ways to Cut Production Cost, Volatile Prices of Animal Feeds
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian government, alongside its development partners, have proffered a roadmap to reduce the cost of production and the effects of incessant price volatility in the animal feed industry.
This was a core message delivered by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, at the 2nd National Animal Feed Summit held in Abuja recently.
He said that the summit, with the theme Harnessing Alternative Feed Resources for Sustainable Animal Feed Supply, aligned with the aspirations and agenda of the federal government to improve the animal feed policy, feed value chain, feed quality control and safety, and national strategic feed reserve, amongst others.
Mr Abubakar pointed out that “the role of animal feed in Nigeria’s agriculture sector was critical as it would provide essential nutrients and support for livestock and production”.
He noted that the animal feed market was characterized by a mix of small and large scale, traditional and modern methods coupled with challenges such as lack of access to credit and markets, low investment in research and development amongst others.
Speaking further, the Minister stated that to meet the increasing demand for animal feed in Nigeria, there was a need for innovation and technology to develop sustainable and efficient production methods which would support small-scale and rural communities.
He, therefore, charged stakeholders to deliberate on a single platform, and strategies and come up with a robust implementable national animal feed policy.
On his part, the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Ernest Umakhihe, represented by the Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mr Imeh Umoh, revealed that the animal feed industry in Nigeria was far from meeting national sufficiency in production.
He said the reason was that Nigeria was known to produce an average of 5.5 million tonnes per annum comprising 85 per cent poultry feeds and has the potential to grow not less than 50 million metric tonnes per annum if the commercial ruminant and swine feeding sub-sectors were harnessed.
He stressed that the feed sector had the potential to engage over 20 million Nigerians, as the industry was yet to reach 25 per cent of its market size.
Mr Umakhihe noted that, Nigeria’s animal feed sector remained underdeveloped due to the high cost of ingredients and other production factors, which resulted in market dislocation and hampered access to products, thereby barring an average farmer out of supply net, noting that these challenges have necessitated the need for the National Animal Feed Summit.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deadline for the recapitalisation of the Nigerian pension industry has been extended by six months to June 2027 from December 2026.
This extension was approved by the National Pension Commission (PenCom), the agency, which regulates the sector in the country.
Addressing newsmen on Thursday in Lagos, the Director-General of PenCom, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, explained that the shift in deadline was to give operators more time to boost the capital base, dismissing speculations that the exercise had been suspended.
“The recapitalisation has not been suspended. We have communicated the requirements to the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), and we expect every operator to be compliant by June 2027. Anyone who is not compliant by then will lose their licence,” Ms Oloworaran told journalists.
She added that, “From a regulatory standpoint, our major challenge is ensuring compliance. We are working with ICPC, labour and the TUC to ensure employers remit pension contributions for their employees.”
The DG noted that engagements with industry operators indicated broad acceptance of the policy, with many PFAs already taking steps to raise additional capital or explore mergers and acquisitions.
“You may see some mergers and acquisitions in the industry, but what is clear is that the recapitalisation exercise is on track and the industry agrees with us,” she stated.
PenCom wants the PFAs to increase their capital base and has created three categories, with the first consists operators with Assets Under Management of N500 billion and above. They are expected to have a minimum capital of N20 billion and one per cent of AUM above N500 billion.
The second category has PFAs with AUM below N500 billion, which must have at least N20 billion as capital base.
The last segment comprises special-purpose PFAs such as NPF Pensions Limited, whose minimum capital was pegged at N30 billion, and the Nigerian University Pension Management Company Limited, whose minimum capital was fixed at N20 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.68 per cent on Thursday, December 18.
According to data, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc led the losers’ group after it slipped by N2.87 to N36.78 per share from N39.65 per share, Golden Capital Plc depreciated by 77 Kobo to end at N6.98 per unit versus the previous day’s N7.77 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped 19 Kobo to sell at N60.00 per share versus Wednesday’s closing price of N60.19 per share.
At the close of business, the market capitalisation lost N16.81 billion to finish at N2.147 billion compared with the preceding session’s N2.164 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declined by 24.76 points to 3,589.88 points from 3,614.64 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities bought and sold increased by 49.3 per cent to 30.5 million units from 20.4 million units, the value of securities surged by 211.8 per cent to N225.1 million from N72.2 million, and the number of deals jumped by 33.3 per cent to 28 deals from 21 deals.
Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc remained the most traded stock by value with a year-to-date sale of 5.8 billion units valued at N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units transacted for N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
Similarly, InfraCredit Plc ended as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units exchanged for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited has again crossed the 150,000-point threshold on Thursday as the demand of for local intensifies.
The market was up by 0.35 per cent during the session, with the NGX index inching higher by 520.23 points to 150,363.05 points from the previous day’s 149,842.82 points and the market capitalisation climbed by N332 billion to N95.857 trillion from N95.525 trillion.
During the session, the consumer goods index grew by 1.23 per cent, the banking counter expanded by 0.56 per cent, and the energy sector appreciated by 0.05 per cent.
However, the insurance industry went down by 0.23 per cent, while the commodity and the industrial goods sectors closed flat.
Nestle Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to trade at N1,958.00, Guinness Nigeria improved by 9.98 per cent to N289.70, Aluminium Extrusion Industries rose by 9.76 per cent to N11.25, DAAR Communications soared by 9.20 per cent to 95 Kobo, and Mecure Industries surged by 9.13 per cent to N55.00.
On the flip side, Stanbic IBTC lost 9.33 per cent to settle at N95.20, Lasaco Assurance went down by 9.09 per cent to N2.50, Africa Prudential slipped by 8.82 per cent, Austin Laz depreciated by 8.82 per cent to N12.40, and Sterling Holdings crashed by 6.12 per cent to N6.90.
There were 35 price gainers and 26 price losers yesterday, implying a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
During the session, a total of 839.8 million equities valued at N32.8 billion exchanged hands in 23,211 deals compared with the 5.9 billion equities worth N216.2 billion traded in 25,205 deals a day earlier, indicating a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 85.77 per cent, 84.83 per cent, and 7.91 per cent apiece.
The day’s busiest stock was First Holdco with a turnover of 385.6 million units sold for N15.6 billion, FCMB traded 76.0 million units worth N805.3 million, Lasaco Assurance exchanged 43.6 million units valued at N111.8 million, Access Holdings transacted 29.6 million units worth N616.8 million, and Chams sold 24.8 million units valued at N75.4 million.
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