Expert Predicts Positive Growth For Nigeria’s Agro Business Sector Post COVID – 19.

The Managing Director / CEO, Farmcredit.ng, African farmer Mogaji has taken a critical assessment of developments across Nigeria’s agro business sector and predicted that the country has potentials to overcome current social economic challenges and emerge a leading global force in Agriculture by end of the present COVID – 19 pandemic.

But in order to make reality of this objective, Mogaji has cautioned that the country needed to put in place the right kind of economic managers who must adopt practically oriented approach in the implementation of policies and laid down strategic programs by relevant ministries of government.

Speaking recently during an exclusive television interview, the Farmcredit Chief Executive observed that Nigeria was likely to create what he termed “ an economic miracle” in agro business post the COVID -19 pandemic as, according to him, West Africa and indeed majority of the developed global economies are currently in a scramble for, and looking up to come to Nigeria.

In addition, he stated that it was imperative that states across the federation look in the direction of forming regional collaborations on agricultural production such as the current practice between some states and the Lagos government on Rice production, as against each of the states doing it alone.

In his words “Post COVID, I think Nigeria is likely to create an economic miracle, If we have the right people because, West Africa needs Nigeria now, the rest of the world, China is planning to come to Nigeria, US is trying to come to Nigeria, India, all of them are scrambling for Nigeria. So I see us been able to walk an economic miracle, if we have people who are practical and action oriented implementing policies and strategies”.

Giving further insights on general outlook on the agro business landscape in Nigeria especially, post the COVID-19 pandemic, the Farmcredit.ng CEO noted that many Nigerians were presently looking on to the agric sector adding that a lot of multinational organisations are highly dependent on grains and cassava for their basic production and to that extent they are reviewing their policies to look inwards rather being import dependent.

He added that Nigeria needed to embrace the opportunities considering that COVID -19 have created a level playing field for many to agro based industries to spring up.

Highlighting on the various challenges militating against rapid growth in the agro business sector, the Farmcredit.ng boss highlighted logistic based challenges as well as input and output constraints affecting the supply chain, pointing out that while the small operators in the sector are able to find ways to adjust and cope, same could not be said of the multinational who are most likely prone to cut down and lay off their staff thus creating labour unemployment.

And order to address these negative challenges, he advised that the government needed to come to aid of the agric sector and provide support by giving not only financial support, but more importantly guidance to private sector operators on the right agro investments to go into such as rice, tomato or other production areas to avoid gluts in the market.

“Government needs to guide the private sector into the investment. If not you will find many of the private sector rush into areas like Rice. Now you have quite a lot of people rushing into Rice. So eventually, a year from now or by end of this year you might have some glut because we don’t have enough processing plants. They need to say why don’t you look into Cassava, why don’t you look into Tomato, why don’t you look into this value chain. These are incentives that needs to happen” he stated..