Economy

Lagos to Revive Abandoned Badagry Organic Farm

Published

4 years ago

09/08/2020

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Lagos State government has moved to revamp the Badagry Organic Farm to ensure food security as part of efforts to boost agriculture and fishing in the commercial city.

This pivot followed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s special focus on Badagry, one of the five traditional divisions of the state where he initiated his pilot agriculture scheme – Lagos Food Production Park over the weekend.

The Governor took a tour of a 279-hectare Avia-Igborosun Organic Farm, which was acquired by the state government in 2012 for some commercial agricultural projects.

Mr Sanwo-Olu said the government was ready to revive the abandoned farmland for the take-off of the state’s food production park project.

The Governor disclosed that the state would be engaging the private sector to secure investment into the project, which, when completed, he said, would create thousands of direct jobs and improve the wellbeing of the residents.

He said, “I have been fully briefed about this project but I considered it necessary to personally embark on this journey to Badagry in order to take an assessment and see what exactly we need to do in terms of intervention.

“After taking a tour of the project site, what I observed is that the entire project looks more like a job that has not been completed. Therefore, we need to improve on the interventions to the Ministry of Agriculture.”

“With very minimal resources, we have seen what the Ministry has done to keep the project afloat. The government will raise the resources and turn around this project to the level it should be.

“We will need to deploy more resources to revive and scale up all the machinery and systems put already in place. We will complete the project and open it for commercial production,” he added.

The Governor said the revival of the Badagry Organic Farm and creation of more food production parks across the state were part of the strategy designed by his government to increase food security level from 20 per cent to 50 per cent, thereby raising Lagos’ food sufficiency.

He added that the project would give rise to similar agro-allied businesses that would open up Badagry’s economy for more growth, while also boosting its tourism business.

He said: “Lagos is a big state in terms of population, but we also can intervene in our food production value chain. What we are also trying to do with the revival of the project is that we want to produce various agricultural products we can consume internally in order to reduce our dependence on external food sources.

“The Food Production Park, which we are creating across the state, will be a trigger to other value-added agricultural production our citizens can provide.”

As part of the move to turn around the organic farm, Mr Sanwo-Olu promised a total rehabilitation of Igborosun Road that leads to the farm.

Some of the agricultural projects to be developed for commercial production in the farm include fishing, poultry, piggery, and agro-forestry, among others.

Mr Sanwo-Olu also inspected a 105-bed Mother and Child Care (MCC) recently completed by the state government in the premises of Badagry General Hospital. The MCC will be commissioned in September, the Governor noted.

During a tour of the hospital, he proposed expansion of the Accident and Emergency Department. The project, he said, will take off in the next nine months.

The Governor also stopped at Marina area of the Badagry town, where the state government will be building a modern jetty.

Mr Sanwo-Olu explained that this is part of his administration’s blueprint to promote waterways transportation across the state.

Economy

AXA Mansard Offers MSME Customers Free Exhibition Stands at Fair

Published

16 hours ago

07/12/2024

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Customers of AXA Mansard in the Micro Small and Medium Scale Enterprise (MSME) sector of the economy will enjoy free exhibition stands at the Made by Nigerians Fair.

The fair is scheduled to take place on Saturday, December 7 and Sunday, December 8, 2024, at the Landmark Event Centre, Lagos.

To support small business owners, AXA Mansard is paying for stands for selected entrepreneurs to showcase their products at the fair, which attracts thousands of people.

According to the Head of Marketing at AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, Mr Olusesan Ogunyooye, this is another gesture by the company to show that MSMEs can benefit from having insurance.

He described MSMEs as the backbone of any economy, noting that they drive innovation, create jobs, and contribute significantly to national development.

“Our support for these businesses at the MBN Fair reflects the commitment to their growth and sustainability. We are passionate about helping them reach their full potential by connecting them with resources and opportunities that foster success.

“By the very nature of insurance, its benefits are in the future and they are uncertain. That has been a main source of discouragement, particularly to MSMEs. Businesses are geared to making money.

“So, when thinking about insurance, an average MSME would rather invest the money in the growth of his business first.

“The risks that businesses face are also real. There are various types of risks businesses have to contend with today; from burglary to fire, the health of employees, and so on.

“When these risks manifest, they can significantly impact a business negatively. We understand that to get MSMEs to protect themselves and the millions of jobs they create, we must help them strike a balance between growing their businesses and protecting them.

“So, we have come up with different Initiatives to help them grow their businesses. The opportunity to exhibit their products and services to thousands of visitors to the MBN Fair is another in the series of our initiatives.

“We are convinced that for insurance to grow, we need to help people and businesses see it as a strategic lever to grow their businesses, not a cost that takes away from them. If we get this right, it can’t have a massive impact on our economy because, when MSMEs thrive, the economy will prosper.

“We have experimented with this model, and we are particularly excited about the responses from our customers. It is a call for us to do more, and we are committed to Nigerian MSMEs,” Mr Ogunyooye stated.

Economy

NASD Index Rises 0.05% on Afriland Properties Closes in Green

Published

17 hours ago

07/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.05 per cent gain on Friday, December 6 after the price of Afriland Properties Plc went up by 60 Kobo to settle for the day at N16.60 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N16.00 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation of the bourse increased during the session by N520 billion to settle at N1.056 trillion, the same value it ended a day earlier, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went up by 1.5 points to wrap the session at 3,014.91 points compared with 3,013.41 points recorded in the previous session.

Business Post reports that yesterday, the price of Acorn Petroleum Plc depreciated at the close of business by 15 Kobo to trade at N1.54 per unit compared with the preceding day’s N1.69 per unit.

The volume of securities traded in the session by investors soared by 168.3 per cent on Friday to 199,577 units from 74,381 units, but the value of securities went down by 45.8 per cent to N1.4 million from the N2.7 million recorded a day earlier, and the number of deals grew by 20 per cent to six deals from the five deals executed in the preceding session.

Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units sold for N3.9 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units worth N5.3 million.

Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 billion.

Economy

Nigerian Exchange Rebounds by 0.10%

Published

17 hours ago

07/12/2024

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited rebounded by 0.10 per cent on Friday as almost all the key sectors closed in green when trading activities ended for the week.

The banking index appreciated by 0.73 per cent, the insurance sector gained 0.55 per cent, the energy counter improved by 0.17 per cent, and the industrial goods space jumped by 0.04 per cent, while the consumer goods sector depreciated by 0.16 per cent.

At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) moved up by 96.64 points to 98,210.75 points from 98,114.11 points and the market capitalisation gained N58 billion to quote at N59.534 trillion compared with Thursday’s closing value of N59.476 trillion.

The bourse finished with 27 price advancers and 21 price decliners, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish sentiment.

Golden Guinea Breweries jumped by 9.98 per cent to N5.40, Japaul improved by 9.30 per cent to N2.35, Sunu Assurances expanded by 9.07 per cent to N5.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance rose by 7.69 per cent to 84 Kobo, and Secure Electronic Technology grew by 7.69 per cent to 70 Kobo.

On the flip side, Eterna lost 4.62 per cent to N22.70, Sterling Holdings depreciated by 4.12 per cent to N4.65, Prestige Assurance fell by 3.85 per cent to 75 Kobo, Consolidated Hallmark shrank by 3.85 per cent to N2.50, and Champion Breweries slumped by 3.50 per cent to N3.86.

Yesterday, investors bought and sold 1.0 billion equities worth N17.5 billion in 7,220 deals, in contrast to the 723.0 million equities valued at N12.8 billion transacted in 8,495 deals a day earlier, indicating a decline in the number of deals by 15.01 per cent and a surge in the trading volume and value by 43.98 per cent and 36.72 per cent, respectively.

On top of the activity chart on Friday was Wema Bank with the sale of 472.5 million stocks valued at N4.1 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 251.5 million shares worth N4.0 billion, FCMB transacted 45.0 million equities for N404.9 million, UBA sold 42.3 million shares valued at N1.4 billion, and Japaul traded 20.7 million stocks worth N46.3 million.