Economy
Lagos to Train 15,000 Youths, Women in Agripreneurship
By Adedapo Adesanya
As part of efforts to expand its agricultural value chains, the Lagos State government has introduced the Lagos Agripreneurship Programme (L.A.P.) under its Agriculture-based Youth Empowerment Scheme (Agric-Yes). The programme is expected to train 15,000 youths and women in various agricultural capacities by year 2023.
Commissioner for Agriculture in the state, Mr Gbolahan Lawal, said the programme was aimed at improving capacity, creating wealth and employment in the agricultural value chains such as poultry, piggery, aquaculture and vegetables. According to him, the scheme will commence with the one-month training of no fewer than 200 participants
“The current reality and exigencies of job creation for the teeming youth population and attainment of food security require that a more aggressive, strategic and efficient approach be employed in the training and empowerment of women and youth if Lagos State is to achieve a significant reduction of unemployment, create more jobs and wealth and also significantly enhance food security in the State by year 2023.
“Hence, the introduction of the Lagos Agripreneurship Programme (L. A.P) under the Agriculture-based Youth Empowerment Scheme (Agric-Yes) which aims to train 15,000 women and youths at the training facilities across the State by the year 2023,” he said.
According to Mr Lawal, the training will take place at the Agricultural Training Institute, Araga, Epe, adding that the introduction of L. A. P would efficiently reduce unemployment, create jobs and alleviate poverty in the state; attract and pay more attention to the creation of jobs for women in agribusiness.
He noted that other objectives of the L.A.P were the fact that it would enhance skill acquisition and improve productivity; produce versatile agripreneurs; increase food production substantially to local food demand within the State; facilitate the attainment of food security; and improve the well being of citizens of Lagos State.
Mr Lawal reiterated the significance of the training, stressing that expected impacts of the training include the creation of 2000 Agro-Entrepreneurs who would in turn become job creators; promotion of food security, improved nutrition and general well-being of Lagosians; and the creation of at least 4000 indirect jobs by every 2000 beneficiaries per year through the engagement of support staff such as attendants and artisans, among others.
Others expected impacts, according to the Commissioner include: the enhancement of the economic activities of the surrounding communities; reduction in the overall rate of unemployment; reduction in crime rate within the state; and promotion of the state’s target of producing at least 25 percent of the food consumed by residents the state before the end of year 2025.
Speaking on the implementation strategy for the programme, he explained that the training and empowerment programme would be done in two stages; the first being the training session in various agricultural value chains to attain a more efficient training of a large number of women and youths in a short time, using fewer resources which will be enterprise-specific thereby encouraging the adoption of forward and backward integration of businesses by participants in their subsequent agribusinesses.
Mr Lawal noted that through the empowerment, the establishment of additional enterprise-specific Farm Estates across the state would be promoted as participants would be allocated land space according to the enterprise of interest and location of residence.
He urged interested participants with passion for agriculture, minimum of senior secondary school certificate, satisfactorily physical and health condition to collect the application forms free of charge at Room 9 at the Ministry in Alausa or at any of the State Agricultural Inputs Supply Authority Offices at Ojo or Odogunyan in Ikorodu or the Coconut House in Mowo, Badagry.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange went up by 0.22 per cent on Friday, March 6, as a result of the rise in the share prices of five securities on the platform.
During the session, the market capitalisation of the bourse added N5.60 billion to close at N2.519 trillion versus the preceding session’s N2.513 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) appreciated by 9.35 points to 4,256.41 points from 4,256.41 points.
The five price gainers were led by 11 Plc, which gained N29.02 to close at N319.25 per unit versus Thursday’s closing value of N290.23 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.19 to N81.35 per share from N80.16 per share, Nipco Plc increased by N1.00 to N285.00 per unit from N284.00 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc rose by 72 Kobo to N125.20 per share from N124.48 per share, and UBN Property Plc improved by 19 Kobo to N2.17 per unit from N1.98 per unit.
On the flip side, Okitipupa Plc lost N20.00 to settle at N230.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N250.00 per share, NASD Plc declined by N5.21 to N51.00 per unit from N56.21 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc declined by 21 Kobo to N1.90 per share from N2.11 per share.
The volume of securities traded by market participants went down by 10.6 per cent yesterday to 3.4 million units from 3.8 million units, and the value of securities dropped 85.3 per cent to close at N62.4 million versus N423.3 million, while the number of deals jumped 4.8 per cent to 44 deals from 42 deals.
CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 37.2 million units valued at N2.3 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units worth N1.1 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 3.4 million units sold for N506.8 million.
Resourcery Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.05 billion units traded for N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 123.1 million units transacted for N481.6 million, and CSCS Plc with 37.2 million units worth N2.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
For another week, the Naira closed without recording a gain against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), as FX demand pressure continues to mount.
On Friday, the country’s legal tender further depreciated against the greenback by N5.82 or 0.42 per cent to trade at N1,393.26/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,387.45/$1.
Also, the local currency tumbled against the Pound Sterling in the official market segment yesterday by N7.61 to close at N1,859.99/£1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,852.38/£1, and crashed against the Euro by N1.58 to settle at N1,611.49/€1, in contrast to the N1,609.86/€1 it was traded a day earlier.
In the same vein, the Naira declined against the Dollar at the GTBank forex desk by N12 during the session to quote at N1,410/$1 versus the previous session’s rate of N1,398/$1, and at the parallel market, it lost N10 to sell for N1,415/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,405/$1.
The domestic currency continued its decline despite $300 million in FX intervention sales to banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), indicating that the rising demand for foreign payments is outpacing supply. However, worries have heightened as the Naira is entering a threshold that has not previously created panic.
In the international market, the US Dollar held broadly steady and saw its steepest weekly gain in more than a year as the escalating conflict in the Middle East drove demand for safe-haven assets. This creates pressure on other currencies.
This also affected the cryptocurrency market. As tensions escalated in the Middle East last week, investors moved quickly to the safety of the US Dollar, which strengthened as markets began pricing in higher energy prices and reignited inflation fears, potentially delaying Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Ethereum (ETH) dipped by 4.9 per cent to $1,975.54, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 4.8 per cent to $84.08, Bitcoin (BTC) lost 4.3 per cent to sell for $67,725.27, Cardano (ADA) slumped 4.2 per cent to $0.2527, and Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.4 per cent to $53.55.
Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) declined by 3.2 per cent to $0.0906, Binance Coin (BNB) slipped 2.9 per cent to $626.32, and Ripple (XRP) went down by 2.6 per cent to $1.36, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude futures climbed 12 per cent on Friday due to disruptions to global oil supplies because of the expanding US-Israel war with Iran.
During the session, Brent crude futures settled at $92.69 a barrel after gaining $7.28 or 8.52 per cent, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures finished at $90.90 a barrel, up $9.89 or 12.21 per cent.
In one week, WTI rose 35.63 per cent, and Brent climbed 27 per cent, the biggest weekly gains since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Disruptions to the Middle East supply and tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continue to rattle global energy markets.
The strait is a narrow waterway which handles roughly a fifth of the world’s traded crude, making it one of the most critical chokepoints in the global oil system. Even partial disruptions or perceived risks to tanker traffic can trigger rapid price moves as traders scramble to price in supply uncertainty.
With the Strait now effectively closed for seven days, that means about 140 million barrels of oil have been unable to reach the market. Vessel traffic has effectively dropped from an average of 138 ships a day to around 1 or 2.
The conflict has spread across the Middle East’s key energy-producing areas, disrupting output and forcing shutdowns of refineries and liquefied natural gas plants.
Qatar’s energy minister told the Financial Times he expects all Gulf energy producers to shut down exports within weeks, a move he said could drive oil to $150 a barrel. Kuwait is also discussing cutting production even further, and refining operations as well, to levels that would match what would be needed domestically.
US President Donald Trump, in an interview, said he was not concerned about rising petrol prices linked to the conflict after he said the US government would step in to provide insurance coverage have yet to have an effect.
President Trump also said the US Navy would escort tankers in the strait earlier this week, but soon after, took it back, after the Navy itself said there was “no chance” of such escorts.
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