Private sector driving, unlocking the gems in Nigeria agric sector
Investment by the Private sector in the country has increased immensely since the revolution of the sector. The Private sector which is the engine of growth has being driving and unlocking the opportunities that abounds in the sector.
The country is repositioning itself to take a significant share of the $1 trillion food and agriculture market expected in Africa by 2030.
“We want the private sector to drive agricultural growth. The private sector is the engine of growth and have invested $5.6 billion since 2012 till date,” according to Akinwunmi Adesina, Minister of Agriculture and rural development.
In a bid to reform the Agricultural sector, the federal government initiated the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) in 2011. The ATA has changed the way agriculture is being looked at. It has made the sector an investment focus. It is now a wealth-creating sector.
ATA has addressed the issue of putting an end to decades of import dependency; not only for rice but for other important farm products to boost commercial agriculture. The creation of the staple crop processing zones is a cornerstone of the ATA
“Two of the largest seed companies in the world, Syngenta and DuPont, have initiated investments in Nigeria. Our reforms in the fertilizer sector and the gas industrialization policy have combined to open up the sector to new investors.”
Today, $5 billion of new investments in fertilizer manufacturing are ongoing by Dangote, Indorama and Notore”, Adesina said.
Investors are moving massively into the country’s local rice production and milling.
According to the minister, Olam has invested $125 million in a fully mechanized rice farm and processing mills commissioned by the President just a few months ago. Its 105,000 metric tonnes integrated rice mill is the largest in Africa.
Dangote Company has committed to invest $1billion (N165 billion) in cultivation of 150,000 ha of rice and 210,000 metric tonnes modern rice processing systems across five States in the country , while high quality rice from the $40 million Dominion farms will soon hit the market. WACOT is investing $40 million in new commercial rice farms and processing in Kebbi state.
PZ-Wilmar, the largest oil palm company in the world is investing $650 million in new oil palm plantations and modern refineries. Just yesterday evening I received the team from WACOT and Louis Dryfus, the global giant in commodities, will be investing $100 million in soybean commercial farms and modern soybean crushing mills, the minister said.
A number of private investors now invest in horticulture. Teragro, a local private firm, has established a $ 6 million plant to process oranges into concentrate.
Dansa Foods, another local private firm, is investing $35 million in the establishment of a tomato processing plant. The company is also investing $45 million to set up a 6,000-hectare pineapple plantation and processing plant in Cross River State, he further stated.
In the GDP quarter three report, the agriculture sector grew by 9.19 percent y/y (Year-on-Year) in Q3 of 2014, up by 2.72 percent from Q3 of 2013. The agriculture sector grew by 38.53 percent q/q (quarter-on-quarter basis) in Q3 of 2014, with crop production being the main driver with a growth of 43.50 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
JOSEPHINE OKOJIE