Economy

Nigerian Firm Tops Seeds Index Ranking

Published

6 years ago

18/04/2019

A company based in Nigeria known as Value Seeds Limited has topped the rankings in new research on seed companies operating in Western and Central Africa.

However, the overall picture is one of international and African seed companies falling short in delivering quality seed and new varieties to smallholder farmers.

This limits the potential to address food security, nutrition and climate resilience, according to a new study by the Amsterdam-based Access to Seeds Foundation.

While there is a growing number of seed companies active in the region, both home grown and international, less than half of the 23 companies researched conduct plant breeding in Western and Central Africa. This limits the release of new varieties adapted to the region, and explains the high number of varieties that are older than five years offered in company portfolios.

The Access to Seeds Index 2019 – Western and Central Africa ranks Value Seeds number one. Like most of the other companies from the region, it operates exclusively in its home country of Nigeria. It stands out for its maize and rice ‘value kits’, all-in-one input packages tailored for smallholders.

Also, it provides capacity building activities that specifically target women and next-generation farmers. Other Nigerian companies also dominate the top half, such as Maslaha Seeds, Premier Seed, and Da-Allgreen Seeds, showing the relative strength of the seed industry from Nigeria.

Ranked second is Technisem from France, which has the widest presence in the region, covering 17 countries and offering training in 13 of them. The company sets an example by establishing Novalliance, which taps into local potential of homegrown African seed companies. Among the top-ten index companies that belong to this group are Tropicasem from Senegal, Semagri from Cameroon, and Nankosem from Burkina Faso. Their combined breeding efforts result in the most up-to-date portfolio in the region, with a high number of newly released varieties.

“What both Value Seeds and Technisem represent is the importance of partnerships to improve access to seeds in the region,” said Ido Verhagen, Executive Director at Access to Seeds Index. “In the case of Value Seeds, its partnership with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) paid off, as its grant-based support enabled the company to improve its products and intensify its outreach to smallholder famers.”

For the most part, open-pollinated varieties still dominate across the region, in contrast with Eastern Africa and South Asia. The exception is maize, for which hybrid varieties are more commonly available. In addition, research shows that for almost half (48%) of the crops, the most recent variety is older than five years, with only a fifth (21%) having a variety less than three years. The lack of newly developed varieties seriously impacts the resilience to a changing climate and emerging disease and pests, which reduces yields.

Compared to a dozen of companies active in Nigeria and Senegal, only one company is active in each of Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.

“Our study shows the potential of homegrown seed companies. However, most operate only in their home markets, which causes geographic imbalances in seed sector development,” said Mr Verhagen.

“This also means that capacity building activities offered by companies only reach farmers in a handful of countries. This limits the adoption of new technologies by farmers in overlooked countries”, he added.

“The relevance of access to seeds and plant breeding should not be underestimated,” said Verhagen. “The number of undernourished people in the world reached an estimated 821 million in 2017 – it’s rising. Climate change and weather extremes have been identified as a major reason for the increase. The seed industry has a vital role to play in helping farmers to adapt to climatic challenges while simultaneously raising production levels.”

According to the FAO, the number of undernourished people has been on the rise in Western Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole in recent years. Western Africa has seen undernourishment rise to 15.1% of the population in 2017 from 10.4% in 2010.

The Access to Seeds Index 2019 is one of the first Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) benchmarks published by the World Benchmarking Alliance.

The alliance was launched in September 2018 during the UN General Assembly in New York. The Access to Seeds Index was established with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Government of the Netherlands.

The Access to Seeds Index for Western and Central Africa focuses on 23 leading seed companies in this region. This was preceded by rankings of the industry in both Eastern and Southern Africa and South and Southeast Asia, along with a ranking of Global Seed Companies.

Economy

Oil Market Rallies on US Crude Drop, Russian Sanctions

Published

39 minutes ago

16/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The oil market rose more than 2 per cent on Wednesday, supported by a large draw in US crude stockpiles and potential supply disruptions caused by new US sanctions on Russia.

Brent crude futures appreciated by $2.11 or 2.64 per cent to $82.03 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude grew by $2.54 or 3.28 per cent to close at $80.04 a barrel.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an inventory dip of 2 million barrels for the second week of the year.

The change estimated by the EIA compared with a modest draw of around 1 million barrels for the previous week, which also saw sizable fuel inventories build that dragged oil prices lower.

For the week to January 10, the EIA estimated an inventory build of 5.9 million in gasoline, with production averaging 9.3 million barrels daily. This compared with a build of as much as 6.3 million barrels for the previous week when production averaged 8.9 million barrels daily. That build was the second sizable weekly one after 2024 ended with a build of 7.7 million barrels in gasoline inventories.

The latest round of US sanctions on Russian oil could disrupt Russian oil supply and distribution significantly, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its monthly oil market report.

The Paris-based agency said that the sanctions on Iran and Russia cover entities that handled more than a third of Russian and Iranian crude exports in 2024, adding that the market will be in surplus this year as supply growth led by countries outside the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+ exceeds subdued expansion in world demand.

This aligns with an earlier projection by the EIA which assumes that OPEC+ would roll back its production cuts and that non-OPEC production would continue leaping forward.

Limiting the gains was fresh developments in the Middle East as Israel and Hamas agreed to a deal to halt fighting in Gaza and exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

OPEC in its monthly oil report on Wednesday forecast stronger demand growth than the IEA of 1.45 million barrels per day this year and, in its first look at 2026, predicted a similar expansion of 1.43 million barrels per day next year.

OPEC expects global oil demand to rise by 1.43 million barrels per day in 2026, maintaining a similar growth rate to 2025.

Economy

Sell-Offs in Dangote Cement, Others Plunge NGX Further by 1.47%

Published

3 hours ago

16/01/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

Sustained profit-taking in high-cap stock like Dangote Cement deepened the woes of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Wednesday.

The domestic equity market lost 1.47 per cent at midweek as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that inflation in Nigeria was further elevated in December 2024 by 34.80 per cent, prompting investors to maintain their selling pressure stance.

Data showed that the industrial goods index depreciated by 4.70 per cent at the close of business as the insurance sector slumped by 3.47 per cent.

However, the consumer goods space improved by 0.99 per cent, the energy counter appreciated by 0.15 per cent, and the banking industry gained 0.02 per cent.

When the closing gong was struck by 2:30 pm to signal the close of trading activities yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) was down by 1,529.59 points to 102,095.95 points from 103,625.54 points and the market capitalisation went down by N933 billion to N62.257 trillion from N63.190 trillion.

Like the preceding trading day, investor sentiment was weak at midweek after Customs Street ended with 28 price gainers and 39 price losers, implying a negative market breadth index.

Universal Insurance and Dangote Cement were the biggest price losers as they shed 10.00 per cent each to close at 63 Kobo, and N387.90, respectively, as John Holt declined by 9.99 per cent to N8.47, Transcorp Power lost 9.97 per cent to close at N324.00, and Omatek tumbled by 9.89 per cent to 82 Kobo.

Conversely, Dangote Sugar, NASCON, and Sunu Assurances chalked up 10.00 per cent each to sell for N36.85, N38.50, and N6.71, respectively, as SAHCO rose by 9.95 per cent to N33.15, and Austin Laz grew by 9.94 per cent to N1.99.

Business Post reports that investors bought and sold 435.5 million equities valued at N9.4 billion in 12,098 deals during the session versus the 503.3 million equities worth N12.6 billion traded in 12,900 deals on Tuesday, indicating a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 13.47 per cent, 25.40 per cent and 6.22 per cent apiece.

Universal Insurance topped the activity log with the sale of 70.3 million shares for N46.4 million, AIICO Insurance traded 39.7 million equities valued at N67.5 million, Access Holdings exchanged 16.8 million stocks worth N414.0 million, Livestock Feeds transacted 16.8 million shares valued at N106.8 million, and Nigerian Breweries traded 16.2 million equities worth N518.2 million.

Economy

Bitcoin Trading Surges Ahead of Inauguration as Open Interest Hits $237m

Published

19 hours ago

15/01/2025

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

As the world, particularly the United States prepare for the second coming of Mr Donald Trump to the White House next Monday, there have been significant interest in the cryptocurrency market.

Mr Trump, who was the President of the US from 2017 to 2021, won the 2024 presidential election by defeating the current Vice President, Ms Kamala Harris, who was the candidate of the Democratic Party, and will be sworn-in on Monday, January 20, 2025, for a second term in office.

The Head of Research at Derive.xyz, Mr Sean Dawson, while commenting on the renewed interest in Bitcoin ((BTC) and other digital coins in the market, said, “In the last 24 hours, BTC trading activity has surged, with open interest hitting an impressive $237 million.

“With 38 per cent of BTC contracts being calls bought and 37.3 per cent puts bought, it’s clear that traders are positioning for increased volatility, particularly with the inauguration just days away.

“This appetite for market swings likely reflects growing uncertainty in U.S. markets as expectations for a near-term rate cut diminish.”

“Additionally, bearish sentiment appears to be gaining traction, with BTC puts now making up 40 per cent of all open interest, a sharp increase from 20 per cent just last week. This shift suggests traders are hedging against potential downside risks as we approach the inauguration.

“Implied volatility (IV) trends further highlight this heightened uncertainty. BTC’s 7-day ATM IV has risen by 3 per cent to 56.5 per cent, while the 30-day IV is up 1.5 per cent, now at 57.5%. This steady climb points to a more volatile market sentiment leading up to the event,” he further said.

”ETH, on the other hand, has seen an even more pronounced spike in IV. Over the past 24 hours, ETH’s 7-day IV has surged by 6 per cent to 74 per cent, nearly double the rise seen in BTC.

“Meanwhile, its 30-day IV has climbed 2.5 per cent to 69.5 per cent. This disparity suggests ETH traders are anticipating greater immediate volatility, possibly due to its higher sensitivity to macroeconomic shifts and speculation surrounding post-inauguration policies.

“As the inauguration draws near, these trends underline a pivotal moment for traders, with both BTC and ETH markets reflecting a mix of caution and readiness for potential sharp moves,” Mr Dawson stated.