The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in collaboration with the Mass Industrial Development and Logistics Limited and other relevant stakeholders in the palm oil sub sector has convened a workshop aimed at reviving the palm oil ecosystem.
The collaboration, also through state governments and investors, will lead to industrial growth, job creation, and import reduction among other economic benefits as the initiative targets $500 million in annual import savings to revive the palm oil sub sector and achieve food sovereignty.
Speaking during the National Stakeholders’ Meeting for Joint Development of Nigeria’s Palm Oil Production Capacity, held Thursday in Abuja, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, said the programme would operate as a Public-Private Partnership, with the ministry providing institutional, policy and regulatory backing without recourse to public sector borrowing.
The minister who was represented by his Senior Technical Assistant, Ibrahim Alkali pointed out that the sector’s success would depend on stakeholders’ commitment to collaboration.
“It is time to move from intention to implementation, Nigeria must take bold and deliberate steps to reposition agriculture as a driver of economic growth,’’ he said.
Kyari added that the nation led global palm oil supply in the 1960s with over 40 percent market share but now produces approximately 1.4 million metric tonnes yearly against domestic demand exceeding 2.5 million metric tonnes.
He stated that, “the result is a deficit of more than 1 million metric tonnes every year- one that compels us to spend between 500 and 600 million dollars annually on imports, What this means is simple: we are exporting opportunities and importing what we have the capacity to produce.”
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