Economy
Olam, MIT Solve Partner for Sustainable Food Systems Solutions
A leading global agri-business, Olam International, has partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Solve (MIT Solve) to design a Challenge aimed at addressing the issues around sustainable food systems in Nigeria.
’MIT Solve is a hybrid business incubator and business ideas marketplace from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that advances solutions from tech entrepreneurs to address pressing global issues. MIT Solve connects innovators with resources such as expertise, human capital, technology, and funding’.
On Tuesday, February 4, 2020, Olam International and MIT Solve co-hosted a Challenge Design Workshop which held at Eko Hotel, Lagos.
The workshop was designed to engage cross-sector stakeholders in the country to deliberate on issues affecting the country’s agri-business ecosystem and aid MIT in designing Solve’s 2020 Global Challenges.
The event was also aimed at building connections amongst individuals and organizations with an interest in innovation, to address social and environmental challenges.
Addressing the audience on the rationale behind the event, Mukul Mathur, Country Head, Olam Nigeria said, “Olam started as a single-man, single product operation in Nigeria and we have managed to achieve massive growth over a 30-year period.
“However, we still face problems and we cannot fix these challenges alone. We realize the value of having an ecosystem which can help in proffering solutions, especially around sustainable food systems in Nigeria. It is important to have such an ecosystem of likeminded people. I know that together, we can fix these problems.”
Ms Sharon Bort, Officer, Sustainability Community for MIT Solve, described the programme as an initiative of the MIT aimed at solving identified global challenges.
According to her, the MIT Solve cycle which starts in February of each year initiates competitions in the areas of Economic Prosperity, Health, Learning and Sustainability.
Ms Bort added that MIT Solve decided to focus on challenges associated with food in an attempt to find solutions to issues around sustainable food systems.
According to Ms Julie Greene, Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, Olam International, the rise in the world’s population presents an opportunity for players in the agricultural value chain with the rapid rate of urban migration resulting in mass movements away from farms where crops are harvested.
“For most part of history, people lived near their food sources, they grew their own food. Today over 50 percent of the population lives in the cities. This has huge implications because of the channels through which these food products are transported and stored. The bigger challenge is that it inhibits people from having a healthy diet,” she said.
Ms Green pointed out that agriculture also has its negative impacts, despite its positive effects, saying, “Agriculture and other land uses are responsible for a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions from fertilizers, deforestation and transportation.
“Agriculture is responsible for 70 percent of freshwater withdrawals. While these are critical to productivity, they also have polluting effects on the environment.
“We only grow enough food to feed the population, but the problem is that 1/3 of that food never actually reaches our plates due to food loss and waste.
“Therefore, the food system needs innovation and that is why we are here today to answer the question what are the various opportunities for a sustainable food system?”
Mr Reji George, Vice President, Farming Initiatives, Olam Nigeria, identified food loss and wastage amongst some of the challenges encountered in agribusiness.
He said, “One third of the global food production is wasted; and this is estimated to be around 1.3 billion tonnes of food. If food losses can be improved upon, global food security, food systems and nutrition will also improve.”
He, however, added that Olam has commissioned surveys in some selected states in Nigeria, while also working with farmers to know the extent of losses incurred during harvest and find ways of reducing such losses.
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.
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.
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.
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