Yemisi Izuora
The Government of Italy has unveiled a trade agency in Lagos in a move it said would help increase its economic cooperation with Nigeria.
Consul General of Italy, Ugo Boni, who disclosed this in Lagos on Tuesday at the opening of Nigeria Agrofood international show and conference, said his home government is aiming at expanding current $2.4 billion trade cooperation with Nigeria.
Boni, said Italy considers economic cooperation with Nigeria especially in the area of agriculture development as key priority.
He said, Italy is keen at helping Nigeria sustain economic restructuring and diversification into the agriculture sector and willing to provide the country with latest technology to boost agriculture yield.
To he envoy noted that the theme of the exhibition, ‘Delivering Food & Nutrition Security Through Cold Chain In Africa’ is apt as the world intensifies efforts to achieve food security especially among developing economies.
In a similar move the government of Germany, says it is deploying new technology to support Nigeria’s agriculture transformation.
Speaking at the summit, German Consulate General, Lagos, Weert Borner, said Germany is working towards helping Nigeria to create value addition using modern technology to process raw materials.
Borner, said Nigeria should be encouraged to limit export of raw materials and also embrace greener agriculture.
He said, Germany is encouraging more packaging companies to invest in the country which prompted its cooperation with organisers of the Agrofood fair.
Beside, such collaboration, Borner said the German government is investing in research and is doing that with a number of tertiary institutions in the country.
Also, speaking at the event, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, said government is encouraging public-private partnerships to find lasting solutions to cold chain challenges in Nigeria and African trade.
Adebayo stated that working together of both the public and the private sectors will uplift the cold chain industries to international standards and would assist in the diversification of the Nigeria economy.
According to him, agriculture is arguably the most important sector in the Nigerian economy, it is a source of raw materials for our Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, employing 60 per cent of Nigerian’s workforce, including many rural women, and contributing almost 30 per cent of the country’s GDP.
He noted that any improvement in the agricultural commodity value chains, including addressing the reduction of post-harvest loss (PHL) of perishables, is fundamental and would have a positive impact on Nigeria and the larger African economy.
He explained that “given the global economic disparities, high market requirements in terms of quality standards, increasing competition, constantly changing customer demand, it is paramount for Nigeria to have a robust and innovative strategy for addressing cold chain bottlenecks and to remain globally competitive.”
Adebayo added that “as at today there is inadequate cold chain infrastructure in Nigeria and this huge gap and the inefficient supply chain infrastructure within the agricultural sector, particularly in the rural areas where majority of farmers are located, have contributed to the farm gate to consumer postharvest wastages of agricultural produce that we have been experiencing over the years.”
He said this summit is a great opportunity to explore the integral cold chain potential in optimizing the delivery of Pharmaceuticals and nutritional products by addressing the challenges faced, for adequate quality and safe health care delivery in Nigeria, and across Africa, in line with global best practice.
He said, to build a sustainable cold chain network in Nigeria and Africa, government is investing heavily to close the energy gap, encouraging stakeholders to invest in the cold chain sector, which can be highly profitable and reap from the economic benefits which abound.
Also, managing director of the organisers fairtrade Messe, Paul Maerz, highlighted the importance of the Nigerian market, saying “with €346 million in 2021, Nigeria is the largest investor in food & packaging technology in Africa, and with €165 million in 2021, Nigeria is the second largest importer of plastics technology in Sub-Sahara Africa.”
He added that the enormous population growth from 206 million in 2022 to 411 million in 2050 demands high sustainable investments in Nigeria’s agrofood & plastprintpack industry, saying that the figures underline the importance of the Nigeria agrofood & plastprintpack market.