Kyari inaugurates Committee on MSME to Step Up Nigeria’s Agricultural Value Chain
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has inaugurated the Implementation Technical Committee on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and the National Agro-Allied Commodities Cooperatives of Nigeria (NACCON) to strengthen the agricultural value chain, foster corporate interactions, drive economic growth, and create job opportunities for Nigerian farmers.
During the inauguration ceremony held at the Ministry’s Conference Room, in Abuja recently, the Minister stated that the federal government would provide a conducive environment for the agribusiness MSMEs to maximize their full potential in production, processing, packaging, marketing and distribution in the Agriculture Ecosystem .
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi, he reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to enhancing agricultural value chains.d
In a statement, the Ministry’s Assistant Director, Information, Ezeaja Ikemefuna disclosed that the initiative aims to unlock value for farmers, particularly MSMEs, by focusing on areas of comparative advantage through the provision of targeted interventions across various commodity value chains and developing rural infrastructure to support food production.
Kyari pointed out that the move will lead to income generation for farmers, increase trade and investment opportunities (locally and internationally), growth in foreign exchange earnings as well as job creation, and poverty reduction
He emphasized that “the aggregation of the produce of the micro, small, and medium producers are considered to be the economic pivots of any nation. Without the existence of the input or contribution of their produce, there can not be produce to showcase, which implies NO Agribusiness MSMEs, NO Nation’’.
In his welcome remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi, represented by the Director, Department of Agribusiness and Market Development, Mr. Iwara Bassey stated that the mandate of the committee is in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President in the agriculture sector, which is geared towards achieving food security and economic growth.
Responding on behalf of the committee, Hon. Juiluis Akam thanked the ministry for assembling relevant stakeholders in the sector for this national assignment, pledging that the committee will work assiduously to achieve its mandate.
