Admin l Wednesday, November 11, 2020
LAGOS, Nigeria – Nigeria will only develop economically if there are deliberate policies to embrace technology in food production, go beyond subsistence farming by creating surplus, Chairman of Flour Mills of Nigeria, John Coumantarous has said.
Mr. John Coumantarous who gave the advice in his keynote address at a two day webinar on African Trade Exchange put together by USSEC, US Grain Council and World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) said countries grow by creating surplus.
“Countries grow by creating surplus, we grow by creating beyond subsistence, this is how Asian countries developed. That is how Nigeria will develop”, he said.
He explained that technology remains the way and that Nigeria must be in the forefront of the 4th industrial revolution by embracing technology. He explained that at the moment Forex is not growing at the same pace with oil and gas while supply chain is growing more inward.
He emphasized the need to place emphasis on production of raw materials for the local industries instead of depending on import for raw materials. While explaining that there is tremendous opportunities for American companies in Nigeria, he said there is the need to build more value chain internally and not rely on forex.
The chairman of Flour Mills said that Nigeria lags behind Africa and the rest of the world in terms of protein consumption and called for investment in logistics, roads, and railways. Besides, he stated that there is the need for Nigeria to grow internal seed capacity for soyabean by investing in hybrid seed, not GMO so that so much can be produced even with a small land. The chairman who said his company has grown with Nigeria in the last 60 years, attributed success to alignment with the need of the nation. He said tremendous growth in the population poses a tremendous opportunity but that growth without forex remains a problem.
While calling for consistent policy for ease of planning, he attributed the success of Flour Mills in Nigeria to patience and forbearance. His advice for other companies is for them to do the right thing as the country grows.
Earlier in his opening address, Mr. Clay Hamilton of the United States Department for Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) explained that the department helps in trade policy, technical support and market development and that the department also works with the African Union, adding that though there are areas of improvement, he believes the USDA FAS is on the right path.
He explained that USDA FAS helps African countries to product at much as possible with a relatively small land. But in terms of market development, he said his company has been supporting exports to the African region and currently has offices domiciled in Africa with technical staff that are able to inspect and resolve issues. He said USDA FAS is looking for ways to educate African farmers by bring them to the United States for training and to assist with higher yields.
In her presentation on Cooperator Introduction, Liz Hare said African protein demand remains a priority for US trade industry adding that her organisation implements programmes that assist with feeds, livestock and others. She explained that the priority is to develop acquaculture for Africa.
She said her organisation has been instrumental in providing support for African countries, notably Tanzania where they have assisted parties in egg production and its nutritional value, stressing that her outfit is well vast working with associations. Rany Taieb of the US Grain Council talked about regional bodies and training so far organised in Africa and that it is currently active in East Africa.
Kevin of Roepke the US Soyabean Export Market said his organisation is into building awareness for the benefit of soyabean and its relevance to the local market. It is also into building relationship, hoping that the US Soyabean Export Market becomes a one stop shop. For now, it is more involved in bringing key players in the industry together for production of high quality soyabean and to create long term relationship for mutual benefit.
In her presentation, Emily France from ConsiliAgra looked at the global soy complex plus corn as well as the demand and supply side of soya bean, meal, oil and the milk in US, China, Brazil and other places. She explained that there has been strong demand for Soya despite the Coronavirus pandemic but wonders if the trend could be sustained.
