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1HE G1..JARDlAN, Sundalt N~mber U, 2012
BUSINESSAGRO
How Abia Rubber Estate Was Privatised F... GordI UrkoltL t.ImuIIu
t:::'?Rso many )'tan, rubber dS d commodily r~ had a seemingly unstoppable downward slide In the nation's agribusiness but the forrune Is bound for a change In Abia sta~ It took a new tum In Abla state, last week, when the Go\(. Theodo~OrjI formally handed ?ver the Abia Rubber Company lId toa pnvate mvestor, Imonlyame Holdfngs l1d. under a lease a~ment. Thecompany comprised rubber estates [cxarrd at Amat:lie Afi.am and Ndl Ojl Abam, which ~ t5ablished bv the government of the defunct easrern Nlgena under the premifi'Ship of Late Dr Mlchae[OkpafiL It was mherited bY the state on Its creation In 199L Sate Agriculture Commissioner Mr.llre Onyenwe.aku said at the handoverCUl.'mony at Amaeke Abam that It showed the ~Ive of the governmem to allow ~ enterprise and ieduce undue lmerfen:nce and ~veness within the environment. . He described the handover as timely and instructive explaining that the Agriculture Mlnl.stry packaged a [ease dgreement that will ensure active ~dpatlon of local .nveston repRSeming the communities namely Odum Achar.l Fanns IJ:d for Ndl Ojl Abam Estate and Danik Investment lJ:d for Amaekr Abam Estate for t~e purposes of d~loplng the plantations. Ol!a~ng jobs opponunltles, we.al!.h and eco. nonuc freedom for the host communities While handing over the company to . lmonl~e Holdings IJ:d repr~nted by the Executlve Director, Mr lenkins Glane and om. ~ Gov. OMi charged the land donor-communitles to worlC: harmoniously with the company to enable it achieve higher result In rubber pro-
duetlon adding that it will funherbring greater efficiency in the manageml!nt and utilisation of the abundanr rubber resources of the state. Orjl, who described the development as another milestone in his admlnlstr.1don's quest to tr.1nsform the !\bla econom~ reit· erated that gowomment dlone CilnnOl solve all the socio. economic and unemployment problems L1dng the people but throupt the public private partnenhlp. He pommt Out that lmonlyame Holdings Ltd have exceJled in rubberrroduction. processing and being one 0 the known mdigenous compan[es In the rubber busi· ness In the country. Exp~ng optimism thatlmonlyame Hordings ltd wtlllive up to expectation. the gmrernor who signe(t the memorandum of the agRement wtth the compan~ assured {hat govemmem will continue to promote the mabling ~nmenL However, he warned thatgovemment would not hesitate to rewlce the agreement If the terms are not followed: Giane, who mted that his company has been involved in management, leaslng. development of rubber plantadons, estates, and processing of rubber lumps for export., assured that It will effect the agreement ro the letn!r. According to him, ·we have paid current salaries to (late. Tappers have been paid their wages to date and It is our desire to continue in this manner. We have commenced payment of community development le"VIes in line with the MOO ruche(t with the host communities prior to this
AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT AGENDA
PLAN
handing over ceremon)f~ He added that as soon as they settle down and fully paid off outstanding salaries o~ to worUn. his company will commence; renovation and rehabilitation of woren camps dnd quarrers. estates roads and bridges. re-planting programme. GI.me encouraged libians to commence rubber planting through the out-growen scheme to be worked out between the com· pany and the Mini.stry. In an address, Odum Achara fanns Ltd for Ndl Oji Abam the representatives of the conununity expressed joy of wlmes.slngan ~nt of this nature for the first dme alier flve decades; they are remembelM in a spe-
Indigenous Stimulants Confab Holds In Lagos 8rf.... OU' . . ~.....
ANXINGon the success ~orded in its maiden International Confell!'nce held last year, which availed stakeholders and partidpants of various opporrunities In the Indigenous 5timuwnt:S Indusuy, the International Conference on Africa's Indigenous Stimulants Indusoy (ICAIS) has concluded plans to hold its second edition In lagos ro implement Its srrateglc action puns that would mabie It move the Indusoy forward. The Coordinator o f ICAlS, Mrs. Heather Akann;' at a briefing on ~~~ In Lagos, said the conference to hold on NOIIember 20 and ZI, 20U would be used to Implement its five action plans. which has been carefully ca .....ed out with It:s developmental pilnners on the future of Ahica·s Indigenous Stimulants IndustI)l. She revealed that ICAl5-z would afford funnen and tr.1ders and the
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counuywlth potential ruppon from wlth~ and outside Nigeria, through micro tinanang to o~r· come the problem of inadequate
The Minister of Sate for Trade and Invesonem. Dr. Silmuel Onom. who was represented by Mr: Adlkwe assured Nigerian tanners of the feder.ll Government's conunionent ~ng to as.se~ble.rep~tato the development of agricultural tJVe from selected mmruuoru In commodities, adding thilt farmen NI~ t'? ake the case of the who produce the commodities. Affica lndigenous Snmulants Indusay to the Headquaners of the processors. sclendst. men::hants and Exponen all have Important role to Union In Addis Ababa, EthiOpIa. Members all!' expected to play in the production and processof the commodities locally and Ing undergo training worlc3hop In farm management and value-chain fadll- internationally bKause government cannot successfully bear the task of tated Ely its deve.lopmenral parmers the economy that has for many outside the shores of Nigena, decades depended solely on ofl. among .ernen. In his comlibution, lagos State Akanm! ":,,ho called on government Commissioner for Agriculrure and and deciSion malten In the IndusCooperadve, Prince Cbolahan lawai, stakeholders and the organised pnvate sector to pay good dttentlon represented by Dr. Nurudeen funso noted that the conference is timely t? the ~or and suppon the Inlda· for the promotion of the indigenous tJve, saJd the c~ncept of ~e develstlmulant:s to unvel.l their littent opment of ind~genous stimulants sector along With partners and sup- potentials as a sourc!!' of foreign porters. is like passlne: through the e:{change earnings, $aying the coneye of a needle and wtth heavy load ference is In line with the pre:senr ddministradon In the state.
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clal way now that the commuruty is given the 0Ppo!TUnityto pamdpate in the day to day runnmg orthe esate. . They told !.he governor, "it could be recalled that Since 196] when our great son -lal!!' Dr Micheal Okpara esablIshed these plantations alongside others under the Eastern Nigeria [)eove]opment Corpor.ltion (ENC~ whereas otherplantadons were managed to the social ilIld financial benetit of the host communities a!ld the government respectively. the oPPO site became our case..~ The community assUIM thdt it would cooperate WIth the Holding company provided they relTlilin faithful and comnuned to the contents of the MOU.
fanners Urged To Join Cooperatives As PAN Organises Show ru BrT...,.E:a G toprevemthereoccur. of dnother glut in the egg market. [he Poultry Assodadon of Nigeria (PAN) under !.he leadership or Mr. Down Agbojo, m:end'y held this year's poultry show WIth the aim to address such challenge and move the sector forward. At the event, with theme. "Economic Empowerment Through CcH>perauve: which held in Lagos, PAN Chairman, Mr. Dorun Agbojo Said !.hough tbe egg glut siruatlon was a hard one, srakeholders would not shy away from soMng the problem. "Our industry 15 going through rough times due to me CUfR'nt egg glut. this ls a darion call for us to curb this menil(e: through the incorporation of co-operatives to members: he said
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"8bojo. blamed the neglect f agriculture on . rne .coming f petroleum that invariably led loss of focus, he pralsed the ~. emment dnd policy ~lc.ers-fdr thCJf renewed mterest I~ agncul· wre.. He canvassed the mdusion of farm worle Into school lurn as that will, on the long run. elevate the Konom:)(. Another stakehoTder an.d char · man of the show, Me. Akinwnd Glwa, encouraged farmers to loin ~o-operatlves, explalnlns th Importance as motivaoon t becoming members. "If you are not Into ~ large fann prol~ you need .to Joln. the cdoperaoves.. The.re IS nothmg elst yo.u could do Without the CO<lper· atlV6; because there aR too many ~ubs:lsrent farmers [Q be brought !n order . [0 ~dCCesS government lIuervenuon.
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FIIRO Projects Lower Bread Prices Using Cassava Flour
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'THE use CilS.'Iiiva flour in confectionery prod~ urn by ~ nationwide is a SUR' way of bringing bn:ad prias down and increasing profft. The Federallnstitutl!:oflndustrial Resean:h. OShodi (flIRD~ made the assertion during a training session for ~ in lbadan during the WI!I!k: One Of FIlRO's D~rs. Iide Olume:ko. an engineer drove home the potnt that 20 per cent Increase In high quall[)'cassava flour in bread production made economic sense for the bak· ers at the rra1ning. Olumeko, who was ~ted bythc Insdtute's Desk oHiai for cassava Value ChaIn. Mr. TItlIS Efunroye. said the use of cassava flour will help bread p rices !all by 65 per cent and boost foreign eXchange. He said increased use of assava flour would help bakeries to be in business due to Jawc- cost of production and coorumers in rum woukl haVe I1'IOre bread to eat. ~[Is tryingroensure fOodsecurtty lntheemQYhelri.theini~lmm?d<H:I
of wheat is wdghing heavily on goymunent ~rces as we speOd over N600bo annually to import wheat. "Efforts in research have ~ rnat we an able to substltutr wheat 60ur with cassava flour which has a higher nubitional vaiue than the former due to It:s k7wer 2fvcemic index responsible fordiabere5., oTuineko sakfJ ~h.Jinnan. Assodadon of Master BakEr.; and Caterers of Nigeria. South-We:stZone, SaJaudeen Abolusodun saId the inltiatiYe by fllRD was conunerulable addlrur: that aU hands need to be on deck to hefp boost the
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AbolusOdun said. "Ri2ilt now the cost of pr0ducing bread Is high to high cost of pur. chasing wheat floUr. We hope to mtrr the Cfil when 100 per cent ca.s:sava. flour will be used
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to~bread
-mJEYIly it used to be 10 per cent mill: adotx· cd since: lOO5. but wtth the inmxluaion ot the 20 per cent mI:r: d assava How:, I Qll
:::::i." you b<e.>d pri= will drop.",
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