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Abuja agro summit to address investments, job creation . Gets FG’s nod

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A national Agri-Agro Summit, facilitated by Kunoch Limited and organised by the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) in conjunction with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Bank of Industry (BOI), Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), the Agri- Agro summit will, among other things, set the tone for how agriculture can be utilised as an engine for economic growth and job creation through innovative business models, risk mitigating strategies, new technologies and strategic partnerships.

Endorsed and supported by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development, the programme will hold at the International Conference Center, Abuja, between Wednesday, November 27 and Friday, November 29, this year.

In addition, the 2017 NACCIMA-NIRSAL Agri-Agro pre, summit and post events are aimed at creating a networking platform for the Private Sector practitioners within the agricultural space to interact with themselves, service providers, the policy makers and the financiers. It provides the stage through which the private sector is enabled to showcase the potential value of agricultural resources in the nation.
According to the organisers, “Our target is to make agriculture an investment of choice for the private sector and a profession of choice for the teaming population of youth in our country”.

The design of the multi-stakeholder Agri-Agro summit events is to set the tone for how agriculture can be utilised as an engine for economic growth and job creation through innovative business models, risk mitigating strategies, new technologies and strategic partnerships”.

Among others, the summit will focus on how to create a platform for interaction and exchange of ideas between all the stakeholders in the agricultural space, mobilise the entire private sector to tap into the opportunities being presented by the current Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the Federal Government.

Also, during the 3-day agri-agro summit, panel discussions and dialogues will hold with the aim of executing a charter of commitment to making agriculture an investment and profession of choice in Nigeria.
A ‘Farmer’s Market’ will also hold to display primary products from each state of the Federation and the FCT. The ‘Farmer’s Market’ will showcase the agricultural possibilities of Nigeria. There will also be an exhibition of agricultural equipment, technology, research and available support services at the venue of the summit.

In the meantime, a pre-summit event has been arranged to host partners and managing directors of banks. Tagged “Hosting of Partners and Bank MDs,” this pre-summit event will hold in Lagos on Friday, October 27, 2017.

The aims of the pre- summit event, among others, are to secure the commitment of all stakeholders in the agriculture investment models that shall further enhance the Agricultural Promotion Policy (APP) with active participation of the financial institutions involved in the agricultural sector.
As part of the summit build up, several embassies had shown interest in some areas of agricultural produce base on areas of competitiveness and comparative advantages.
For example, the Brazilian embassy in Lagos played host to the first breakfast meeting held at the prestigious Eko Hotels and Suites on 12th September, 2017, followed by the Indonesians on 28th September, 2017, at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

Overall, the 2017 NACCIMA-NIRSAL Agri-Agro pre, summit and post events are aimed at creating a networking platform for the private sector practitioners within the agricultural space to interact with themselves, service providers, the policy makers and the financiers.

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Ihesiulo Grace

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