Norway to support Nigeria’s quest for Agric revolution

The Ambassador of Norway to Nigeria, Svein Baera, has expressed the willingness of his country to support agribusiness in Nigeria.

He disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja while speaking at the Norway – Nigeria Agribusiness Forum.

“When I presented my credentials to the President last month, the importance of agriculture and agribusiness was one of the topics raised.

“We need to increase productivity – and mechanization could be a key way to do that.

“We are supporting research programs on local production of better and more climate-friendly fish feed for Nigerian fish farming.

“Norfund, the Norwegian Government’s development finance institution, invests 12 million USD in a cocoa processing plant in Ibadan,” Baera said.

He also said Norway is supporting UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in its efforts to make farming in the North East better and more sustainable.

While noting that there was a need to make farming attractive for young people both in Nigeria and Norway, he called for less talk about “agri-culture and more about agri-business”.

Baera said mechanization of the sector would play a crucial part in the agricultural revolution in Nigeria.

Speaking at the Forum, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, said inadequate funding had been the bane of agricultural development in the country.

Represented by A. M Adebiyi, the director of the agribusiness and marketing department in the ministry, Kyari said unstable market prices and multiple taxation also constituted a challenge for the sector.

“We need partnership and collaboration…in the area of capacity building, transfer of technology, training and investment,” he said.

Jafar Umar, Director General, Nigeria Agribusiness Group, harped on the need for an increasing mechanization of farming in Nigeria, noting that about 80 per cent of farmers are into small-scale farming in the country.

He said the business and financing model should be reexamined to make it affordable.