Experts in the agriculture sector have said that agro-business had capacity to drive the country’s economy just like oil “especially with the dwindling oil prices in the international market due to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
They said this in Calabar on Thursday at the launch of Ogoja rice investment exhibition by the Santuscom Agro-Hub, owner of Ogoja rice.
Speaking, the chief executive officer of Santuscom Agro-Hub, Chief Paul Santus Ofana, said, “The era of government putting its eggs in one basket with 100 per cent dependence on oil is soon coming to an end. Apart from the low prices in the international market, the crude oil we have been depending on for many years will drive up one day.
“That is why we should all diversify. To be candid, agro-business is the main thing now. It has the capacity to drive our economy just like oil. The future of Nigeria’s economy no longer lies on oil as it used to be in the past but on agriculture. New billionaires are certainly going to emerge from the agricultural sector.”
Ofana, who said he foresaw food shortages across the nation due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, explained that as a product, Ogoja rice “is of the calli 55 specie which matures in three months and is highly vitamised,” adding that the company, which produces 30 tonnes of rice daily, was upgrading facilities for production of 300/400 tones in its agro park farm located on Yala local government area of the state.
He said with the increase in production, it would not only ensure food security, but provide employment and wealth creation opportunities for Nigerians. “That is why we are opening the space for investors to come in under the crowd funding platform and benefit from the attractive and guaranteed return on investment (ROI) of 40 per cent. This is an impressive high yield investment that you must take advantage of, that is, you go about your normal activities while your money works for you.”
Henry Onwe, a major agric entrepreneur, in his remarks, charged Nigerians to diversify, saying that with commitment and political will on the part of the country’s leadership, food security could be sustained and that Nigerian products, like the Ogoja rice, could compete favourably in the international markets.
Also speaking, a representative of Nigeria Export Promotion Council, Dr. Emmanuel Etim, urged Nigeria to key into the opportunity agro-business provides so as to better their lives, saying that agro-business, if properly harnessed, could change the socio-economic fortune of the country.
