Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu E. Enelamah has said that linkage between agriculture and industry is a sure way of bringing about sustainable growth.
The minister who represented President Muhammadu Buhari but read his own speech at the 40th Kaduna International Trade Fair organised by the Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KADCCIMA) Nigeria will achieve sustainable growth by creating new jobs, improving value added, creating wealth for farming communities, improving manufacturing output and enabling the roll-out of infrastructure around farming communities industrialising our country.
He said, “The Federal Government has begun implementing several programs aimed at achieving these goals; one of these programs is the Made in Nigeria for Exports program which seeks to fast track the development of model export oriented Special Economic Zones across the country to promote export-oriented agro-processing; the revision and rollout of several sector policies to promote investment in processing of agricultural commodities such as oil palm, cassava, tomatoes, sugar, dairy, amongst others.
He added that ” the ERGP Secretariat is pursuing the implementation of 70 new investment projects identified during the recently concluded Manufacturing and Processing Focus Labs. These opportunities which were identified in food processing, textiles and garments, general manufacturing, etc present a great opportunity to improve the value added to our agricultural output and their scale is a testament to the potentials which exist in our economy.”
While noting that state governments remain a key ally to all businesses and the commitment of State Governments is required for business to stay the course throughout the business life cycles, he assured that the FG is focused on resolving the challenges which remain in the business environment.
He said the FG will continue to engage KADCCIMA and other Organised Private Sector (OPS) groups in the country on progress made on these initiatives and strategies for catalysing investment and improving the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
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