Economy

Nigeria, Japan Signs MoU on Rice Seeds Production Systems, Diagnostic Capacity

Published

8 months ago

26/04/2024

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria and Japan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the enhancement of rice seeds production system and diagnostic capacity in Nigeria.

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Atiku Bagudu, signed the MoU in Exchange of Notes and Records of discussion on enhancing rice seeds production and diagnostic capacity projects, in Abuja alongside the Ambassador of Japan to Nigeria, Mr Matsunaga Kazuyoshi

Mr Bagudu said that Japan had achieved a lot in the agriculture sector, especially in rice seed production and technology.

According to him, the government of Japan ensures that small-scale holder farmers are supported to produce and generate more from their land.

He said that in Nigeria also, our major objective is to include everyone so that those small-scaleholder farmers particularly the family-based can do better.

“In spite of Japan’s leading achievement in technology and mechanisation, the country was able to maintain a land-holding system in its agriculture. The Japanese have helped us with seeds in agriculture, also in technology, but I believe that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture is also trying its best to support small-scale farmers.

“Equally, agriculture is science, meaning that, seed is at the foundation of transformation in agriculture.

“There are many of our farmers who have inherited rice production across the country. They are Oyo, Ebonyi, and Taraba states, in fact they are everywhere in all parts of Nigeria.

“The one tragic thing is that most of them are using the incorrect seed. Seeds that have not been preserved properly,” he said.

The minister said that the support of the farmers by the Japanese government would increase productivity, thereby, reducing deflation in the country.

He said that the support was also very significant and would enhance development and reduce hardship in the country.

He thanked the Japanese government for its effort to improve the agriculture and health sectors of the country.

Mr Bagudu said that the support for the diagnostic capacity project would improve the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and be of benefit to Nigeria.

“I was glad when the representative of the NCDC introduced herself as the implementing agency. This is because typically, we have struggled with these issues that a lot of donors or development partners are hesitant to make our institutions implementing partners.

“So, supporting us and recognising one of our institutions as competent is a big endeavour.

“We believe the institution is competent. We know our capacity but this is an additional recognition that we value as we are recognised, mandated and entrusted with the ability to implement the support and so, we thank you.

“I am honoured today to confirm that the government of Nigeria has accordingly agreed to sign this exchange of record of this discussion.”

On his part, the Ambassador of Japan to Nigeria, Mr Kazuyoshi, said that Japan would continue to be committed in working hand in hand with Nigeria to achieve the goal and create more resilience.

Mr Kazuyoshi said that the Japan and Nigeria governments have a long history of partnership in various sectors.

He said that the signing of the MoU was a testament for both countries to continue being committed in improving the lives of citizens.

“So, I am confident that no matter what challenges lie ahead, the steadfast collaboration between Nigeria and Japan will enable us to overcome any obstacle.

The ambassador said that the Japan government had supported Nigeria to tackle infection diseases in the health sector.

“The aim of the project is to help Nigeria to detect and respond to infectious diseases by establishing a state of art biosafety laboratory within the NCDC.

He said that the project was not only significant to Nigeria but to the entire African continent.

He said that the partnership between the two countries extended to agriculture sector, adding that the Japan government was making efforts to ensure that it enhances productivity, food security among others in Nigeria.

He said that 40 per cent of sesame seed consumed in Japan were sourced from Nigeria and about 50 million of Japan population enjoyed the sesame seeds.

“These sesame seeds’ oil product is one of the best selling items in Japan. These facts demonstrate the high quality of Nigeria agriculture products,” he said.

Economy

FAAC Disburses 1.727trn to FG, States Local Councils in December 2024

Published

1 day ago

14/12/2024

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The federal government, the 36 states of the federation and the 774 local government areas have received N1.727 trillion from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) for December 2024.

The funds were disbursed to the three tiers of government from the revenue generated by the nation in November 2024.

At the December meeting of FAAC held in Abuja, it was stated that the amount distributed comprised distributable statutory revenue of N455.354 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N585.700 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N15.046 billion and Exchange Difference revenue of N671.392 billion.

According to a statement signed on Friday by the Director of Press and Public Relations for FAAC, Mr Bawa Mokwa, the money generated last month was about N3.143 trillion, with N103.307 billion used for cost of collection and N1.312 trillion for transfers, interventions and refunds.

It was disclosed that gross statutory revenue of N1.827 trillion was received compared with the N1.336 trillion recorded a month earlier.

The statement said gross revenue of N628.972 billion was available from VAT versus N668.291 billion in the preceding month.

The organisation stated that last month, oil and gas royalty and CET levies recorded significant increases, while excise duty, VAT, import duty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies Income Tax (CIT) and EMTL decreased considerably.

As for the sharing, FAAC disclosed that from the N1.727 trillion, the central government got N581.856 billion, the states received N549.792 billion, the councils took N402.553 billion, while the benefiting states got N193.291 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

From the N585.700 billion VAT earnings, the national government got N87.855 billion, the states received N292.850 billion and the local councils were given N204.995 billion.

Also, from the N455.354 billion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government was given N175.690 billion, the states got N89.113 billion, the local governments had N68.702 billion, and the benefiting states received N121.849 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

In addition, from the N15.046 billion EMTL revenue, FAAC shared N2.257 billion to the federal government, disbursed N7.523 billion to the states and transferred N5.266 billion to the local councils.

Further, from the N671.392 billion Exchange Difference earnings, it gave central government N316.054 billion, the states N160.306 billion, the local government areas N123.590 billion, and the oil-producing states N71.442 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

Economy

Okitipupa Plc, Two Others Lift Unlisted Securities Market by 0.65%

Published

1 day ago

14/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.65 per cent gain on Friday, December 13, boosted by three equities admitted on the trading platform.

On the last trading session of the week, Okitipupa Plc appreciated by N2.70 to settle at N29.74 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N27.04 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N2.49 to end the session at N42.85 per unit compared with the previous day’s N40.36 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 50 Kobo to close at N16.30 per share, in contrast to the preceding session’s N15.80 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation added N6.89 billion to settle at N1.062 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.055 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 19.66 points to wrap the session at 3,032.16 points compared with 3,012.50 points recorded in the previous session.

Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 171.6 per cent to 1.2 million units from the 447,905 units recorded a day earlier, but the value of shares traded by the market participants declined by 19.3 per cent to N2.4 million from the N3.02 million achieved a day earlier, and the number of deals went down by 14.3 per cent to 18 deals from 21 deals.

At the close of business, Geo-Fluids Plc was the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 1.7 billion units worth N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with the sale of 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 million.

In the same vein, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 108.7 million units for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with a turnover of 297.3 million units worth N5.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Trades N1,533/$1 at Official Market, N1,650/$1 at Parallel Market

Published

1 day ago

14/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N1.50 or 0.09 per cent to close at N1,533.00/$1 on Friday, December 13 versus the N1,534.50/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.

The local currency has continued to benefit from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this month.

The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.

The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN.

Market analysts say the publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira in the official market and tackled speculation.

In the official market yesterday, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N12.58 to wrap the session at N1,942.19/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,954.77/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N2.44 to close at N1,612.85/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,610.41/€1.

At the black market, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N30 to sell for N1,650/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,680/$1.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely positive as investors banked on recent signals, including fresh support from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, as well as interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).

Ripple (XRP) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $2.49, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 3.5 per cent to $728.28, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 2.4 per cent to trade at $1.11, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 2.3 per cent to $122.56, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $101,766.17, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $0.4064, Solana (SOL) soared by 0.7 per cent to $226.15 and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.6 per cent to $3,925.35, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.