Nigeria’s solid minerals can kick-start boom in mining industry - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Olamilekan Adegbite, has declared that Nigeria has sufficient mineral resources to kick-start a boom in the mining industry, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Making this disclosure at the weekend during the opening ceremony of the recently held Fourth Edition of the Nigeria Mining Week in Oyo, Adegbite said also that this is achievable with the right investments and the right atmosphere.

“The documented stock of minerals that could be found in Nigeria is sufficient to kick-start a boom in the mining industry in Nigeria, with the right investments and the right atmosphere,” he said.

To address this, he said the Federal Government intends to partner with a broad spectrum of stakeholders in the industry to deepen the reforms to foster a conducive ecosystem for private sector investment.

The event, which brought together key players, policy makers and investors in the mining industry as well as finance experts from about 20 countries and the governors of Kebbi and Nasarawa States. 

Isaac Oyimah/Editor

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NACCIMA calls for industries protection against ECOWAS’s CET

NaijaAgroNet

The Director-General, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Emmanuel Cobham, has advocated protection of local industries in the wake of the implementation of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET).

NaijaAgroNet reports that NACCIMA‘s position on the policy is that manufacturing companies need some level of protection against the influx of foreign products that the tariff favours. Cobham said since the CET regime has commenced, government may need to consider ways by which the hardship on importers and manufacturers alike could be alleviated.

He stated this in response to a World Bank report, ‘Connecting Food Staples and Inputs in West Africa: A Regional Trade Agenda for ECOWAS countries,’ calling on Nigeria and other governments in West Africa to move beyond nationally-focused food policies and address regional trade within ECOWAS to link farmers with consumers in the region’s booming urban areas, NaijaAgroNet gathered.

“Food staples belong at the heart of the ECOWAS agenda on agriculture,” said World Bank senior economist and lead author of the report, Jean-Christophe Maur. He said the importance of cross-border cooperation to secure food supply, as well as manage common natural resources, regional diseases and security challenges, has been made painfully clear in recent years, calling for a new  commitment to regional trade in the West African 

Sub-region to accelerate agricultural production, boost growth and ensure food security.
The report obtained by The Nation builds on the lessons of the World Bank report, “Africa can help feed Africa,” and examines the specific circumstances in West Africa, which is home to one-third of the continent’s population, and bringing new analysis to the food staples trade and policies in the region.

The report regretted that though Africa has tremendous agriculture potential with more than half of the world fertile yet unused land, countries on the continent are increasingly dependent on food imports from the rest of the world, NaijaAgroNet reports.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE
 
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FG dismantles bottlenecks to seed industry growth

NaijaAgroNet

The Federal Government of Nigeria has assured that it will dismantle all bottlenecks which stand in the way of growth of the seed industry in Nigeria, NaijaAgroNet reports.

This disclosure was made recently by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Sonny Echono, at the launch of the Nigerian Chapter of the Alliance for Seed Industry in West Africa (ASIWA) in Abuja.

Echono, NaijaAgroNet gathered, said that efforts must be made to identify relevant issues and remove all bottlenecks to the smooth growth of the seed sector in order to make quality seeds available to farmers.

He disclosed that the Federal Government was planning to train 100 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members to ensure production and marketing of good quality seeds by various seed producers.

The permanent secretary said that the Federal Government had also sanctioned by de-listing some seed companies, who supplied adulterated and poor quality seeds to farmers, NaijaAgroNet learnt.

 “To achieve the laudable objectives particularly in the seed sector, it is imperative that the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) as the government agency responsible for seed industry development must be fully supported to perform. NASC must come out with specific recommendations, to create a sound level, sustainable dissemination and strategies for improved crops to resource poor farmers in the country,” Echono stated.

For the country to achieve the objectives of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda launched in 2011, he said, it was necessary to provide the right policy to protect seed production, NaijaAgroNet learnt.

Cyriacus Nnaji/ GEE

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LCCI to host Expo on ICT

   ITRealms

   

Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has unveiled plans to host Information Communications Technology (ICT) Expo tagged ‘ICTEL EXPO’ which is scheduled to hold at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos between 15th and 18th of April, 2015.

ITRealms learnt that ICTEL EXPO 2015 which has the theme “Connecting Businesses, Creating Opportunities” offers four days of inspiration, innovation and information”. LCCI is an event which aims to bring together the stakeholders in the ICT industry, both indigenous and international that will last for four days.

So far, the ICTEL Expo has received the support and endorsement of most of the key industry stakeholders; National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Nigeria Internet Registration Agency (NIRA), Federal Ministry of Communication Technology (COMTECH), Computer Professionals Registration Council Of Nigeria (CPN) and Co- Creation Hub(CCHUB)

 ITRealms also reports that application for participation for the ICTEL EXPO 2015 is open for brands, organizations who want to seize the opportunity provided by the platform to give visibility to their products and services. The EXPO also promises to provide excellent networking opportunities for business decision makers, innovation mangers, enterprise solution providers, startups investors and all other stakeholders in the ICT industry.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE


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