Economy
Insurgency, Banditry Fuelling Food Crisis—FG
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has admitted that the rising insecurity in Nigeria was threatening the supply of food items across the country, deepening the food crisis.
But the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has assured that efforts would be made to address the issue.
Speaking at the Consolidatory Dialogue for the Nigeria Food Systems in Abuja on Tuesday, she said the federal government has resolved to find lasting solutions to the issue through dialogue.
“Indeed, through these engagements, we have not only been able to identify some challenges intrinsic to our food systems from multiple perspectives, but we have equally been able to harvest some promising ideas, innovative solutions and approaches from diverse stakeholders,” she said.
According to her, the food systems encompass the entire food production, processing, supply chain, food environment as well as consumer behaviour.
“We have also recognised the need to make our food systems attractive to our teeming population especially to the youth of this country. For this reason, the government is deploying up to date technology in agricultural production and the entire food value chain,” she said.
In her words: “There is no gainsaying that the Nigeria food systems is currently being threatened by increasing cases of insurgency, kidnapping, armed banditry and other vices currently plaguing our country.”
“These challenges notwithstanding, the emphasis, according to her, has always been on protecting the economy and funding the country’s healthcare needs, with the COVID-19 response spurring necessary transformation and innovation in the fiscal space and beyond.
She said this informed the rationale for making food and nutrition key thematic areas in the medium-term national development plan (MTNDP 2021-2025) presently being developed by my Ministry in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
“It is, therefore, my belief that the opportunity provided by these dialogues have created more awareness, a better understanding of the challenges of our food systems and actions needed to make our food systems more sustainable and more resilient.
“Solutions we shall be coming out with will be those that will further propel us to achieving Nigeria of our dream particularly in the quest to improving nutrition security, reducing hunger and prevalence of malnutrition as it was envisioned in the national food and nutrition policy for Nigeria,” Mrs Ahmed said.
The Minister noted that she sees dialogue as a platform to consolidate all conservations that have been made in Nigeria around the food systems since the inception dialogue in February 2021.
She noted that the event was to enable Nigerians to harmonise the major highlights that emanated from the series of government and independent-led dialogues that have taken place so far in the country and making some commitments on ways of making the food systems better, more inclusive and more sustainable.
“During this period that the dialogues lasted, participants from diverse sectors shaded lights on the synergies and trade-offs between the five actions trackers of the United Nations (UN) food systems.
“Thorough analysis was made of existing policies, plans and guidelines, in-country studies and on the field experiences leading to a better understanding of how our food systems are affected and pathways to a more drastic transformation of our food system,” the Minister said.
Mrs Ahmed disclosed that, “In line with the UN’s leadership directive, Nigeria under the leadership of the Permanent Secretary as the National Convenor has successfully organised an inception dialogue at the national level, exploratory dialogues in 12 States across the six geo-political zones and local government and community level dialogues in eight communities selected from eight states.
“We have also had over 30 independent dialogues” organised by a group of individuals as well as private organisations. With this, you will agree with one that the journey has been so tedious but with our collective resolve to succeed we were able to come this far.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The ban on the export of raw shea nuts from Nigeria has been extended by one year by President Bola Tinubu.
A statement from the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, on Wednesday disclosed that the ban is now till February 25, 2027.
It was emphasised that this decision underscores the administration’s commitment to advancing industrial development, strengthening domestic value addition, and supporting the objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
The ban aims to deepen processing capacity within Nigeria, enhance livelihoods in shea-producing communities, and promote the growth of Nigerian exports anchored on value-added products, the statement noted.
To further these objectives, President Tinubu has authorised the two Ministers of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and the Presidential Food Security Coordination Unit (PFSCU), to coordinate the implementation of a unified, evidence-based national framework that aligns industrialisation, trade, and investment priorities across the shea nut value chain.
He also approved the adoption of an export framework established by the Nigerian Commodity Exchange (NCX) and the withdrawal of all waivers allowing the direct export of raw shea nuts.
The President directed that any excess supply of raw shea nuts should be exported exclusively through the NCX framework, in accordance with the approved guidelines.
Additionally, he directed the Federal Ministry of Finance to provide access to a dedicated NESS Support Window to enable the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to pilot a Livelihood Finance Mechanism to strengthen production and processing capacity.
Shea nuts, the oil-rich fruits from the shea tree common in the Savanna belt of Nigeria, are the raw material for shea butter, renowned for its moisturising, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. The extracted butter is a principal ingredient in cosmetics for skin and hair, as well as in edible cooking oil. The Federal Government encourages processing shea nuts into butter locally, as butter fetches between 10 and 20 times the price of the raw nuts.
The federal government said it remains committed to policies that promote inclusive growth, local manufacturing and position Nigeria as a competitive participant in global agricultural value chains.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange expanded for the first session this week by 1.27 per cent on Wednesday, February 25.
This lifted the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) above 4,000 points, with a 50.45-point addition to close at 4,025.25 points compared with the previous day’s 3,974.80 points, as the market capitalisation added N30.19 billion to close at N2.408 trillion versus Tuesday’s N2.378 trillion.
At the trading session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by N5.00 to trade at N100.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N95.00 per share, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc improved by N4.18 to sell at N70.00 per unit versus N65.82 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc increased by 14 Kobo to trade at N1.59 per share compared with the previous day’s N1.45 per share.
However, the share price of Geo-Fluids Plc depreciated by 27 Kobo at midweek to close at N3.27 per unit, in contrast to the N3.30 per unit it was transacted a day earlier.
At the midweek session, the volume of securities went down by 25.3 per cent to 8.7 million units from 11.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 92.5 per cent to N80.7 million from N1.2 billion, and the number of deals slipped by 33.3 per cent to 32 deals from the preceding session’s 48 deals.
At the close of business, CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 34.1 million units exchanged for N2.0 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units traded for N1.1 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.0 million units valued at N478.0 million.
Resourcery Plc ended the trading session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.05 billion units valued at N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.0 million units sold for N478.0 million, and CSCS Plc with 34.1 million units worth N2.0 billion.
By Dipo Olowookere
The bears consolidated their dominance on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Wednesday, inflicting an additional 0.09 per cent cut on the market.
At midweek, the market capitalisation of the domestic stock exchange went down by N73 billion to N124.754 trillion from the preceding day’s N124.827 trillion, and the All-Share Index (ASI) slipped by 114.32 points to 194,370.20 points from 194,484.52 points.
A look at the sectoral performance showed that only the consumer goods index closed in green, gaining 1.19 per cent due to buying pressure.
However, sustained profit-taking weakened the insurance space by 3.79 per cent, the banking index slumped by 2.07 per cent, the energy counter went down by 0.24 per cent, and the industrial goods sector shrank by 0.22 per cent.
Business Post reports that 25 equities ended on the gainers’ chart, and 54 equities finished on the losers’ table, representing a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.
RT Briscoe lost 10.00 per cent to sell for N10.35, ABC Transport crashed by 10.00 per cent to N6.75, SAHCO depreciated by 9.98 per cent to N139.35, Haldane McCall gave up 9.93 per cent to trade at N3.99, and Vitafoam Nigeria decreased by 9.93 per cent to N112.50.
Conversely, Jaiz Bank gained 9.95 per cent to settle at N14.03, Okomu Oil appreciated by 9.93 per cent to N1,765.00, Trans-nationwide Express chalked up 9.77 per cent to close at N2.36, Fortis Global Insurance moved up by 9.72 per cent to 79 Kobo, and Champion Breweries rose by 5.39 per cent to N17.60.
Yesterday, 1.4 billion shares worth N46.2 billion were transacted in 70,222 deals compared with the 1.1 billion shares valued at N53.4 billion traded in 72,218 deals a day earlier, implying a rise in the trading volume by 27.27 per cent, and a decline in the trading value and number of deals by 13.48 per cent and 2.76 per cent, respectively.
Fortis Global Insurance ended the session as the busiest stock after trading 193.7 million units for N152.7 million, Zenith Bank transacted 120.7 million units worth N11.1 billion, Japaul exchanged 114.8 million units valued at N407.0 million, Ellah Lakes sold 98.4 million units worth N999.2 million, and Access Holdings traded 63.1 million units valued at N1.7 billion.
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