SUNDAY PUNCH
BUSINESS INTERViEW
DECEMBER 11 , 20 11
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'Air travel, still expensive in Africa ' The Managing Director, Peacock Travels and Tours, (Pty), South Africa, Ms Maistry Elisha. says air travel is expensive on the continent and recommends more
nights, in this interview with OYETUNJI ABIOYE AT Is your ossessmen' of .he .ravel and olrllnf! Indust.ry In A/rlco? Air travel is slill very expensive in Africa. Thele should be more nights into Africa because the marl<el is very large. When there are more Rights, then the price wiU come dawn. Forelgll olrl/nes houe domln a.ed 'h e African skies. H OlD can J\frlcon ca rTl e rs toke 0 major share oj .he ",arke'? Africa needs to invest in more planes and air ttanspon infl'35tructure. Africa should cake charge o f its continent and stop depending on the United States Ot Europe to bring In the ir airlines to domInate the African markel. H all! can air links be d eoeloped In Afrlco as In adlla n ced coulI'rle.t ? There are various challenges to having adequa te air links in Africa at the moment. This is why some secti on o f the market is being held by a few monopolistic groups at the moment. Africa needs to import skills and then train its people to tllke Oller. Africa has II poor safel)' record In air .rauel , occordlllg to the I"te motlonal Air Transport A.uocfa,'on. HOI" ",,11/ ,his be minimised? We need to ensure we raise Ihe skills of ou r air transport staff. This WIll reduce Ihe riSks. Currently. we have 1I few skilled aeronautic engineers. pilots and other professionals to gud!'llntee adequate safety mechanisms. We need 10 stllrt tr&mng people lit very young age and make it attractive to be in the airline industfy There are still a few black skilled people In the alrhne busin~. MOTe opporlunities need 10 be created. as we ll as dose pannershlp with bUSiness, education
The Provost, Federal College of Agriculture, Ibadan, Dr. (Mrs.) Foluke Oluwatoyinbo, ta lks about the 90-year-old institution I as well as education in the country in an interview
with journalists. AKINWALE ABO LUWADE was there INElY yeors on, t.I!hot hO$ the college contributed 'D .he national grololh? The mandate of the coUege is 10 train and produce highly skilled middle age human power to strengthen the economy through agriculture. It has pursued this mandate among other llCtNibes \ike helping our 5ludents, naining farmers from lime to time, as well as training youths. The college over the yean has produced eminen t pef50nalities in the field of agriculture and in other sedors of the economy. We have actually formed the Foundation of Agricultural Education not jusr in Nigeria but in West Africa because _ learnt from history ~ when the coOege was founclal., the lI1Ioinees v.ee nOi just rorning from Nigeria. Ihey were also coming from other parts of West AIrim. As an expert, whot ono of agrlcllltlln should Ihe country focus on Imp rove the econom y? All branches of agriculture are equally important. Whether you are taIk.ing about livesIock or aop producfion. we have: a lot of areas to capture like expon crops, vegetables, seedlings, a rable , c.a55a\.I<\, yams. pomtoes and others. We also have other areas like production, processing, "",[ue addition. packaging, prevention from decaying and rotting, infestation and others. Agriculture is vast and every area is valuable. The colJege has contributed to the grou.-th of Nigena in ill lot of ways. Our students are expected to
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However, with this saKi, one require: ' to be a differentiator and an innovator and th1s IS one of CUI ma in focuses in ou r business. Our intention is to grow our <ompany to become the pride of the travel sub· sedor in Southern Africa. D o you .hlnk In Ort' Nig erian culfl prefer co ming tD Soulh Afrlcofor buslnus ond le/jure tllOn Europe? Fim. we need to understand whitt the Nigerian market is looking for. Is II the sea, mountmls or Just peace and quietness? Once we know their needs. then we can shOl.II them how a ttractive South Nnca Is to meet Ire needs. What we do is to explore both drive and ny o pporu, ities. and also create package'J thai are affordable and allra : Uve . A couple oj mo",hs IIgO, Sflnle NIgcrlaru wen allegedly maJtreote d In South Afri ca o~r Issues of xenophobia. HIlS this offected b",;hle.ts ad versely? Some bad perceptions are long ernbedded in the mind of the South Africans. And so. we nee<: change the sligma. find a solution to SlOp illegal immi]Tants to South Nriu because they are the ones that give tn.! Nigeria the ~d name. We need to find a way 10 make the Nigerians In Souih Nrka understand that illegal bUSiness ju sl glH. S their country a pool name and stalus. There must be 5OmIi! titer<ltulli! tOlllltraveUers on this matter. This can be worked cu. in coUaboration \\.'ith the Immigration department. Is )'our comp(JIlY looking 'OI»rtiS IncreO$IlIg .he numbe r of business and le is ure I mlle" ers from Sou.h Africa Nigeria ? Yes, whai we Me tr~'ing to do is to'1l' I'J1e o pportuntlle5 tha t are attractive to South Afn eans. ThIs Ii il('[ause there must be an allrac1ion for peo ple to ",,<!In! to ge IC. NIY'!ria a nd I.\.'e need to explore all the strengths of Nigeria Ind use thIS effectively What reoJiY lllol.fL-.n te d yo u to Ihls sector? I had been well travelled. growinoJ up. 1he exci:emenl of visitIng new destlnallons a nd leammg about other cul:u.res has always been i'l thing of Inter0!5t 10 n ", Tavel is no t just a ' caree r or job 10 me; II 15 a passion thl t I aml in. What Is our COIl11'("'Y's pion ' " rh l;J Illr ,.rOlle l s ubsector ? We are looking at Imp roving the I ,ilal~l re1i'1 tio flsh.p that exists between Sout h Afnu and NIQ lJ1a. O ur Intenti on is to expow the nationals of both nations IC lhe unpopular tourist destination.
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department, governmen ts and priVllte sector to make this happen. However, In the end, it Is up to us AIricans to !flake things. if we want change and progress Africa Is ngorded os on e m erglllg morke e. Wh o. grow th polentlal do )/O il see In th e sec lo r? There is a huge potential in the Small lind Medium En terpflSe'ji sector \n Africa. And theR Me great opponunlties lor people to become entrepreneurs, they jusl need 10 be skilled and mentored. The government in South Africa has placed huge development in this sector of tha economy. And even foreigners including Nigerians can Illke up thIS opportunity legally and become great businessmen and women. What Is th e level oj d ellelopment oJthe .ourism Sll bsec.or and •.he ' .ravel Industry In Sou .h J\frlclI? In my opinion. I see this industry asbeing high!ycompetitive and you need 10 be a survivor in this CUI throat business
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'All branches of agriculture alre imp dant' ~ go OUI and introduce to fcmnm modern technologies. other ways 01 producing crops. rearing animals and when you IiIIk about rnOOem methods. these are soenhfica1ly
proven teehnologies. Our students are disseminaiOB of technologies. What on the wop bJl tvhlch
farmen , wheth er small salle or m e c h II n I se d , benejlt from your s ervices? There is no mucruredconnection. But we have a connection becaU5e many of them usually come for our QRJduate5 to work on their farms? Some of them also send us their ~ for Ir.!lining in our regular COUI5e$ lhallead 10 the issu<ma!: of the National Diploma and Higher National Diploma. Some also send their wOlkers for short term training in specific areas. Some of them approach us to come to their farms and help In solving one problem or !he other. HtJU/ con lue reposillon ogrlwl'un to fmproue th e econom)'? Agrirulnm! is the founc\i.!.tion of life. If any countfy is going to do well and sustain the lives o f in; dliwlry, it has to take agriculture very serious. When you talk about other field5 of endeavour, you I.IIlk about Medicine, Law, ICT, they are men that SUStain these rl£lds and those men need to be susWned. So. agriruIrure is basic to any other sedor of the economy. U we don't pay the sedor the desired attention thai it
deserves. no OlOO thing will wofk. How CIln goo er r! m e n ( restore tile g lory
of agriculture in tile country? We are all aware 1M1 agncuIlUre is one ofthemainsources of our economic 5U5tenante.
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North 10 South, our dimale Is good for one aspect of agriculture or the other. But one problem i5 thai agrirulture Is a painstaking ventur2. You don'j ecpect to gel rich quick. EWfybody needs quick money; people love 10 get rich quick but on our part I.\'e have been working on our studentli to tell them that \vMtevet thai is going to endure will take time and et'Ief!W. The gDIIIeITlOfS in tile South· West are woriang ou t what we c.alJ regional lntegration. Most 01 the states are trying to bring back tkeil' farm sertJemenlS. Theywam to use asJicuIture as a major tool in reviving the region's economy. Who' adulce do you houe for the stote governments In ,his regCJrd? It is WlY gtCItifying now that those that are in the helms of affairs have the wiU. Many papers a.Od puol!catiom that have been presented $Uggesting ways to go about it had been put on lheshelves in the pastand nobody implemented them But, iI makes one very glad that now we have a governmenl at the stalO! level which is ready 1<1, revive agrirullure. Bringing back the
farm st!Tllements is ~ TIght step in th;;!' right direction and ~w ha\..-' ~!l1d thIS ~ral limes. ~~ have lIStened b .. t nobody acted. We M! 9 ad thaI rtOW5OI'I' !p.-opII! aJ'; l mkingil up. It is going to solve feo-I ard llI'II!'mploymenl problem. Many oltilE;(' yout hs that are jobless and caU5l1'1g ITOuble \II O\I£T the country will be ocrupied. It will b l>051 OIlT economy as we will have the capaCI~' (0 produce II \la!\ ~nge of AQricuIIUIlII produ ::lS Wa can eIipOI1: we don', haI.oe to live just o n oil Of po!ttOIeum and we wtI not cootinue t 1 1iI."e in II foor s paradise with the belief thet cil v.iU continue 10 ~ OUt economy We \<iD tram them and grve lhem the proper skiD thai they need. We will monitor them to the r iam15 Training is our basic mandale. How d o JIO U keep gouernment obrf!QSt oJlhe Innooollons of the college? We have our supnvl!OfY agences. We are direaly supervised bo., the ~ Minisny 01 Agriculture and Rural Developments. We have the Agriculture Rese vch Council of Nigeria. We are also 5U~-d by the Committees on Agriculture both In the Senate and House of Representatives. The>l come from time ID lime to see what we are doing and as ID whether our productS are in I15e. yes, !hey are in use. Many ianneB rome here and say we saw ~ lTIllChines exhibited; ha.~' much will it oosI us to produce them? IVlmt an the p"ob/emsfaclngJarmers In Nigerla? One is land dearing Government should ocquife !he necessary equlprTlent and tools, not Just traCl0r5 alon~ bul ~I.'erything that will make farming easier. Government can have centra where farme~ can pay a token 10 use equipmenL This is basic if \W are serious. Land use is another issue. In fad, this is the area where our cum produm (srudents) have problems. They' all! \lOtmg and don't have access to land. Onl} a fi'l.\' of them wQose fathers are wealthy r:x that are chV!fs in their villages tMt have ocress 10 land.
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