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By Merit Ibe
The Group Managing Director of Amo Group, Dr. Ayoola Oduntan, has called on the Federal Government to prioritise the agricultural sector in its quest to reverse the downturn of the economy, considering its huge contribution to employment, food security and the nation’s development.
Dr. Oduntan insisted that the government’s allocation to agriculture is inadequate to stimulate the desired turn around, compared to the 10 percent agreed in the Maputo Declaration by the African Union in 2003 and endorsed by member countries.
He made this submission at the joint conference of the Bank of Industry (BOI) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) held in Lagos, with the theme “Empowering Futures: A Collaborative Journey in Financing Nigeria’s Industrial Sector.”
He said the country produces about a million tons of soyabeans annually, which is mostly exported and a welcome development as it brings in desired forex. However, for the poultry industry to survive in 2024, it must import soya bean meal from outside Nigeria as the price continues to rise and scarcity ensues. He said a solution will be to control export to protect both export income and the poultry industry which employs millions of Nigerians.
The former president of the Poultry Association of Nigeria pointed out that post-harvest loss in the country which is estimated as N3.5 trillion is a remarkable oppourtunity for industrial development. He gave the example of mango purée which is a $1.5 billion industry worldwide. It will eliminate mango wastage.
While discussing the funding challenge for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and their full integration into the nation’s economic system, Dr. Oduntan urged financial institutions to actively support in building capacity to access funding as a disproportionate percentage of available funds is given to foreign owned companies due to the knowledge gap of local SME’s.
Amo Farm which has made contributions to agricultural development in the country, is known for its agro-innovation with the noiler bird, launched in 2014 after a 12 years selective breeding process.
Noiler is a dual-purpose bird that is similar in appearance and taste to the native chicken but is more resistant to field diseases and produces four times more eggs and three times poultry meat.
The company has impacted over 1.3 million rural households with the bird, with emphasis on women, and this has laid a solid foundation that could be multiplied to spread across the country and the African continent.
