------------~.
----------.-~----."'------
Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2011 - 21
Business Nigerian economy grew by 7.85 per cent in 2010
T
Prf!si,r1eJ~t, Brassister Mattew Lagos State Governor, Corporate Affairs, President, Nlgerlan-Brazll1an Chamber of Commerce
FAO prediction on imminent food crisis in Nigeria attracts divergent reactions AO's prediction that Nigeria, Morocco and Bangladesh face' imminent food crisis has attracted divergent reactions from stakeholders in the nation's agricultural sector. The report, posted on the UN agency's website, stated that the world food situation was in dire straits. It indicated that the global average price of foodstuffs such as maize, rice, sugar, wheat, meat and diary products soared by 25 per cent in the international basket in 2010, compared to the December 2009 levels. It also warned that if the situation was not urgently addreSsed, it could induce one of the worst food riots the world had ever witnessed. "It could also engender geo-political tensions like the type that rocked Mexico and Indonesia in 2008, fuel global inflation and increase hunger amorigst the planet's poorest people," the FAO report stated. Concerned about the adverse consequences of food insecurity to the socio-political and economic well being of Nigerians Reacting to the report, the Minister of Agriculture, Prof Sheikh Abdullah, said in Abuja that the Federal Government would not panic over such a report and criticised the authors for not seeking his opinion as Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture. "Nobody sought my opinion; neither did anybody speak with the Minister of State for Agriculture or any of the stakeholders in the agricultural sector before coming out with the report, " he路 said. According to him, such reports are often based on assumption and insufficient analysis. However, he said the current administration was aware of the global food crisis and that efforts were ongoing to reposition the nation's agricultural value chain for sustainable
F
K
development. He noted that post harvest losses, among other factors, hampered government efforts toward the attainment of food security and food sufficiency in Nigeria. However, he said the Federal Government was already implementing several programmes aimed at promoting best practices in agricultural development. He said that the ongoing National Programme for Agriculture and Food Security provided the road map for the implementation all agricultural government-assisted agricultural programmes. He identified them as including the Commercial Agriculture Development Programme (CADP) , FADAMA III, NERICA Rice Project and the IFADassisted Community-Based Natural Resource Management Development Programme (CBNRMP), CommunityBased Agricultural and Rural Development Programme (CBARDP) and the Rural Finance Institutions Building Programme (RUFIN). According to the minister, the nation's food storage capacity is also' being boosted from its present 300,000 tonnes to three million tonneS with the ongoing construction of new silos. '~part from the silos projects, the ministry has also established 17 integrated large-scale rice processing mills in 12 states. More than 174,000 tonnes of assorted grains have been purchased from 2009 to date under the "Guaranteed Minimum Price Scheme (GMPS) even as N8.76 billion was expended on the mopping up of some food commodities such as millet, paddy rice, maize, garri and sorghum," he said. In Kano, Prof Ahmed Falaki, an agricultural researcher, disagreed with the FAO prediction All Farmers Association of Nigeria
(AFAN) Delta State chapter, expressed concern that the rate at which Nigerian youths were shunning agriculture could trigger food crisis in the country. Our youths are leaving the farms in droves," he said, and stressed the need for the Federal Government to have a definite agricultural policy direction. Osai, a former Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Delta, also stressed the need for each state to have its own road map for the development of agriculture. Chief Owere Imasogie, a member, Governing Board, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) in Benin, Edo State, dismissed the report, saying that Nigeria cannot face food shortages, claiming that food production level was high. Mrs Stella Ogu, a commercial farmer in Edo, urged the government to "religiously" implement its agricultural policies.
he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says the Nigerian economy grew by 7.85 per cent in 2010. A communique issued at the end of the Monetary Policy Committe (MPC),.on Tuesday said that the economy recorded sustained output growth in 2010. It said that provisional data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicated that real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 8.29 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2010, up from 7.86 per cent recorded in the third quarter. "The overall GDP growth for 2010 was estimated to be 7.85 per cent, compared to the revised growth rate of 6.96 per cent recorded in 2009," the apex bank said. It reported that non-oil sector remained the major driver of overall growth, with agriculture, wholesale and retail trade, and services contributing 2.39, 2.04 and 2.08 per cent, respectively. The outlook for 2011 was projected to be generally favourable in view of the continued improvement in the international oil market and emphasis on the development of the non-oil sector. The MPC said that the year-on-year headline inflation trended downward during most periods of 2010. "It declined to 11.8 per cent in December 2010 from 13.6 per cent in September. Similarly, core inflation declined to 10.9 per cent in December 2010 from 12.8 per cent in September," it said.
AGRIC COMMODITIES
CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAl SEllING CPA
EURO POUNDS RIYAL SDR
0.2888 0.2988 02.6163 203.2944 38.293 239.0905 39.84
39.9734
0.3088 203.9725 239.888 40.1067
32.4963 233.2744 S.FRANC 155.7386 156.2598 DOLLAR 49.4 149.9 WAUA 231.3307 232.1049
234.0525 156.781
YEN
1.8145
1.8024
1.8085
150.4 232.8791
CBN Exchange Rate as at 2410112011