The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Alhaji Muhammad Sabo Nanono, has called for stronger partnership and collaboration between Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Beyond Oil Initiative Nigeria (BoIN) towards boosting agribusiness development and job creation in Nigeria. The Minister, disclosed this when the Beyond Oil Initiative Nigeria team led by the National Programme Coordinator, Adanma Ogumka – Ekeji, paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja.
He noted that the Programme would achieve the goal of the current administration’s next agenda in the Agric Sector and create the desired value chain, facilitate products standardization and promote global market access of Nigerian branded products with massive job creation and increase Internally Generated Revenue for the country.
Nanono stressed that there was need to promote global best packaging methods and branding of the products towards ensuring global market penetration.
He also said the programme would facilitate uniform grading and competitive pricing of Nigerian Agric products and boost mechanization /technology driven commercial production of selected viable exportable agricultural products.
In her remarks., the National Coordinator, BoIN, Adanma Ogumka – Ekeji informed that ‘’ the Program is working in Partnership with Alex Ekwueme Federal University ,Ndufu Ikwo Alike ( AE-FUNIA),Ebonyi State, FMARD and other International Organizations to achieve these set goals’’.
Ogumka -Ekeji further said that ‘’ we have foremost market access specialist/exper t, working with leading global institutions and the government to develop and take back domestic and export markets of indigenous commodities which have been taken by other countries, thereby making Nigeria a dumping ground for their products.’’