The Managing Director of Nigeria Commodity Exchange NCX and the Ogun State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Adeola Odedina are among eminent Nigerians to be honoured at the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria, CICAN, 2021 workshop and awards.

This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen over the weekend in Lagos, by the Chairman Planning Committee of CICAN Barnabas Eshiet and signed by the Chairman of the association, Mr. Charles Okonji.

The event which will take place on Thursday 16, December, 2021 at Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Ikeja, Lagos will begins at 4pm      

The workshop with the theme ” Impact of Forex crisis on the Real sector & MSMEs ” will attract economic experts and captains of industry in the manufacturing , SMEs , financial institutions in the country

Organizers of the event said developments in the Foreign exchange aspect of the economy and its impart on the local industries will take the center stage at the workshop.

The statement disclosed that Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, CPPE, and Immediate Past Director General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( LCCI) Dr Muda Yusuf will be the guest speaker at the event, which will centers on the impact of the scarcity of FX on the country’ s manufacturing industry in particular and the economy at large.      

The statement added that distinguish captains of industry and outstanding individuals will receive the CICAN’s prestigious award for their great performance.

Other awardees include his Royal Highness, Igwe  Chris Oranus , the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) Kris  Oral Group of Companies,  Malinson Afam Ukatu , The Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Nipson, whose firm pioneers  tiles production  in Nigeria,  Mr. George Onafowokan, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) Coleman Wires & Cables, who is been recognize for the great strides of his firm in wires and cables manufacturing and Engr. Bede Egwu Obayi, FNSE Director of National Metrology Institute, SON, for his passion for standard compliance.

It noted that institutions like Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture ( NACCIMA) who have had sustainable partnership with CICAN for three decades, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria ( MAN) who has consistently use it’s advocacy roles to champion the cause of the country’s manufacturers are also to be recognized at the occasion.  

The statement that the panelists include Igwe Chris Oranus, Mr Malinson Afam Ukatu,  Mr George Onofowokan and the Director General of NACCIMA , Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni.                    

It would be recalls that recently, the manufacturers umbrella body told the world that they are unable to access up to 20 per cent of it’s FX needs from the local banks which the Central Bank of Nigeria designated for the purpose.             

It will be recalls that CICAN is the best association that report and analyse the country’s commerce, industry and the SMEs sector.                     

Over the years, the association used every December to bring together captains of industry, manufacturers, SMEs operators, financial institutions players and the media and other experts to discuss topical issues confronting the Real and SMEs sector, the statement concluded.

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has collaborated Ogun State to refurbish an aquatic dam situated at Odeda Farm Institute, Eweje in Odeda Local Government Area, as it built a yam tuber barn at the Institute for the storage of yam tubers to avert losses being incurred by local farmers.

          Speaking during the commissioning, Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Mohammed Mahmood Abubakar, represented by the State Director, FMARD, Engr. Ganiyu Oseni said, the renovated dam and the yam barn were intervention projects aimed at improving the socio-economic wellbeing of the State and restore the hope of farmers.

          He noted that most crops are seasonal and there is dearth of storage facilities, hence the procurement of the yam barn and a way of cementing the existing relationship between Ogun State and Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

     In his address, the State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Adeola Odedina, represented by the Director of Agric Services, Mrs. Josephine Shodiya-Soetan, said the facilities being commissioned would go a long way at bringing back the lost glory of the Institute, promising adequate maintenance and judicious use of the facilities.

          He however pleaded that FMARD should expedite completion of other proposed projects at the Institute.

Nigerian-owned Labana Rice Mills has acquired 30,000 hectares of land in Benin Republic for rice cultivation.

The General Manager of the company, Alhaji Abdullahi Idris Zuru, disclosed the development in a statement made available to newsmen in Birnin Kebbi at the weekend.

According to him, the development is a product of a meeting between Beninese government officials and a delegation from the company, in Cotonou, last weekend.

The delegation was led by its chairman, Abubakar Abbah Adamu Aliero,  at the meeting chaired by the Benin Republic Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Gaston Dossouhoui.

Zuru further said the company would provide financial support for farmers in the country, for the 2022 dry season farming.

He noted that the intervention will be done through the government, to ensure the production of no fewer than 20,000 metric tonnes of paddy rice.

“A total of 30,000 hectares of farm land are being made available in Benin Republic for Labana Rice Mills for cultivation of rice.

“In addition, before the land is sorted out, the company will finance farmers in the country through the government to produce 20,000 metric tones of paddy rice in 2022 dry season farming,” he said.

On his part, the Benin Republic Agriculture Minister noted that the development was informed by the positive report gotten from a committee that visited the rice mill in Kebbi State.

“The decision of the government to provide the farmland to Labana Rice Mills was part of the partnership arrangement which was informed by the report from the committee that visited Labana Rice Mills and Labana rice farm in Kebbi State.

“The report has convinced the government of Benin Republic that Labana Rice Mills has the capacity to be a reliable partner in agriculture,” he added.

Farmers begin harvest on Nigeria’s largest cotton farm, seek efforts to sustain sectorial growth

Cotton farmers under the aegis of the National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN) have commenced harvest on the largest cotton farm in Nigeria, calling for more efforts to sustain the growth of the sector.

Speaking at the flag-off of the 2021 Cotton Wet Season Harvest in the 6,000-hectare farmland located in Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State, the President of the Association, Chief Anibe Achimugu, said the feat was achieved through the interplay of private and public sector interventions, describing it as an effort to diversify the economy through the cotton value chain.

According to him, the sector was also able to achieve the feat courtesy of the CBN’s intervention- the Anchor Borrowers Programme, adding that the acquisition of improved seed varieties and mechanised equipment also made it achievable.

“Fortunately, in 2019, cotton was included among the crops to be financed by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers’ Program. Through the efforts of NACOTAN, cotton farming has been revived and harvested cotton available to the ginneries with multiplier effects felt in Nigeria’s textile and garment industries.

“To sustain these achievements and increase the quantity and quality of cotton, NACOTAN has adopted contiguous farming method-a large scale farming system of thousands of hectares here in Plateau as well as in Kano, Jigawa, Zamfara, Taraba and Adamawa states, just to mention a few.

“For the 2021 wet season, we cultivated 39,645 hectares of cotton farms across 17 states covering the North West, North East, North Central and South West Regions of our nation.

“NACOTAN also acquired 97 brand new John Deere tractors which helped us massively with our 2021 wet season cultivation. We increased our yield per hectare utilising good quality planting materials sourced locally and internationally”, he explained.

He stressed the need to support the growth of the sector by fostering reliance on locally produced cotton.

According to him, the mandate of the association was to ensure that military and para-military uniforms are made with locally grown cotton.

He, therefore, warned charlatans to stay away from their farms, to avoid a negative impact on the industry’s sustainability efforts.