Investment in agriculture, key to boosting FX supply –Obaseki

By Chinwendu Obienyi 

The Executive Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has advocated massive investment in agriculture, especially oil palm as a strategic move to boost the supply of foreign exchange in Nigeria.

Obaseki stated this at the 26th Annual Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers’ (CIS) conference themed; Capital Market and Agricultural Development in Nigeria: Issues and the Way Forward” which held in Benin City yesterday.

Whilst stating that the role of stockbrokers was critical in the flow of investments into various sectors of the economy, Obaseki said Nigeria’s economic growth is hinged on a vibrant private sector, propped by a thriving capital market.

Obaseki, who was represented by the Edo State Government’s Head of Service, Anthony Okungbowa stated that the Edo State Government developed the Edo State Oil Palm Programme (ESOPP) in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to de-risk investment in the oil palm plantation and agriculture sector in order to tackle supply gap in the system.

“We are fortunate to have in our state, the biggest publicly traded commercial agricultural companies, notably Okomu Oil Palm Plc and Presco Plc, both of which operate massive oil palm plantation in the state. These companies have grown exponentially, returning high dividend to investors in the last few years. This can be the solution to the current situation regarding supply of FX in the country”, Obaseki said.

For his part, Group Managing Director, Nigerian Exchange Group, Oscar Onyema, said the agricultural sector can be the game-changer in terms of generating the much-needed foreign exchange for the Nigerian economy.

According to him, the capital market has an irrefutable role to play in improving the Agricultural sector.

Whilst noting that Nigeria’s arable land area of 34 million hectares translates to a myriad of opportunities to achieve food security, Onyema said that in terms of generating the much-needed foreign exchange for the Nigerian economy, the agriculture sector continues to show strong potential. 

He noted that the Nigerian capital market which aids long-term capital formation could be a good engine for driving growth and development in the agriculture sector while adding that it has become imperative to promote both new and existing instruments for the optimization of this sector.