DAILY TRUST
Monday, April 23, 20 12
US to boost agric commodities with $60m in Nigeria
Nigeria loses N31.2bn to cybercrimes annually - Study Fnm NlIIlmI..'t Ajibnl\l! Nunt-
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COMMONWEALHt Td· ccommuruc:llioru Orpni· gtjon (CTC.) has sasd tklt NFU is currently l0sing about '120010 (abou t N31.lboJ al1DuaJly 10 van· ouscyberountS in thecoun + "1. A study I..onductcd by I. rueardt and consultancy finn, Earnest & Young. satd apart from the huge «0nomic thrent cybercrimc.s actMtics pow:s to tht: coun· try, the TqJUtaliona.! cost to its nal.JCHlbt>OLl cannot be undcrc::5timal«i. 1bt a lief Eucuti\'e OffKW of (:r 0. ProfcsscxTun Uov.in,r:aId in. pmen-
tatlon al the National Stakehoklcn' CoosulIW~ Forum on 2013 - 2017 Str.lt~
Management Plan orpnbed by the Nigerian Com-
munications ComnUSSIOll in Lagos. that thn1! is need ro.the Nigerian gtJ\"cmmcnl 10 lilkc holistic: steps in curbing the ~Ie r::l cybercrima In the COWlI:ry. He ~ 10 the FtdnaI Govmunenl to f.asttnd the pusagt' of var10Ul1 laws
on cylxmime. which bills arc currently pcndins in the NatiorW Assembly. Unwin abo called on the FcdcnlI ~I 10 :set the IcgitI and rcgulalOfJ
rnmeworlts to minimise cybcrcrimes. adding Ih31 the Nigerian Communica-
lion Commission has:a Yay critical role 1o pI..ly in curbing the iOOl:a5ing wave of cybnoima In lhecountry. He noted thai cybcr security had become a key area ofintervention by Juformatlonand Communkalion
Technology regulators especially considrring Its impact on
loear's communication
mfra!itruct~
He s;Ud Idling up and opt:l'Bling cyber-securily fr.urw:worit ~uires invol","," men! of~ in d~
publk and priva!e scctQB. Unwin apWned tJul a robust and railicnt cym security framework lIw Nigeria muld adopt has to ~ ara.s such as critical inlUrmation in~ructure
protection. cyben::rimc and child protection online. II Yloukl be rta1kd thai. Olairman of the Economic and Fmancial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Lamorde. Ia.u. Tuesdly IlIlI10tIJlCCd that the commission ~~ ~r N251 billion (rom sundryin lemel crimes.. Lamorde said the rom mb5ion also ~ 2.,078
convictions. adding thai about288intemdfnudases arc ItiIl pending in courts.. Giving the breakdown ~ the ~. the EFCC boa stated tkli the COITUIlir lion. in conjunction with the Nigeria PosLaI Scmcc, ~~ about $24.2 million and anotberN244..76billJon in its wv against qbeT crimes.
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THE United Stata hu voted S60 million for tht- second phaseoUts USAIO MaDIIlizing Agncubural Revenue and Key Entcrprisc:5ln Targeted Sites prognmme. The aim of the programme Il tG inernsro the output of Nigerian farmcn.nd help thmt commcn:iaIiu six targeted commodity groups which indude rice. sorghum. cowpea. dairy. aquaculture and .sesame xed. Speaking in Ahuja at the end o( the firs! phase of the programme whkhltafted In 2005. USMO Mission Oirec+ lor (or Nigeria. Dan. Mansuri. wd the partnerships with some ohhe country's largest agribu1inesscs and Ihe use of a n1ue chain approach is to unlock the sectors enormous potential She said:. "Maximizing AgricuJluraJ Revenue and Key Entctprises in Targeted Sites (MARKETS) is a fJVC+yeat' progr.mme designed tostrengthen .griculture compctiveness and food 5CCUfity In Nigeria. Ibe programme began in 2005 with a budget 0($24 milHon and dosed in December 2010 with a final budget o(S51 .6 million. MARKETS' work was atended WIth an .dditional S95 million bringing USAlD's tOlal invutmcnl to561.1 million.Shrosaid that MARKET$' 51.1:' ycarso( programmmgpro· vides a road map ror future agricullurod development In Nigeria, demonstrating what worb In the country's com· p&a economicenvimnment. She 5al.d: "To build public and Pftvate sector Clp«ity, MA.RKETS a5sutcd 1.2.75,874 people In 31 slales pillS the Federal Capital Territory Ihrough training. access to new markd$.. aCCess 10 finance, acce$$to technology, fertilizer, or inpuu, or direct assistance.. ·llllso assisted at least 18. 72J producer groups through training, accCS$ to markrts, marUt lnlOrmltion, Of finance, IntTOductlon or nnv technologies or management pnctka.. such as using seeds or ftrtiliU'r appliClitlon lech · niques, and incrnslng the net Income or project·assutcd producer groups.... Speaking. the ,,"Unister or State ror ....grlcuhurt and Rural Development. Bulcar lljani, said that the USAID MARKETS pro;cct provides so much for the Nigenotn government to learn espcdally from theirlppl'Uileh loagrielli. tur.d project design. prognmmlng and Implementalion. He said thlt his ministry has carried out a nallonal farmers' cenSIlS aimed al establishing rarmers' biometric data bank, adding that three million (armers had so (ar
b<en _"""He said thai they arc: targeting about five miUion (umersin 2012 and a lotal or20 million by2015.
TRUST INDEX
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