While Nigeria consumes nearly three million metric tonnes of palm oil annually, domestic output is only around 1.3 million metric tonnes, with a considerable portion being imported. Recognizing the immense potential, Nigerian palm farmers believe that with proper support, the sector could significantly contribute to the country's earnings.
Related stories: Video - Nigeria eyes $2 billion annual revenue boost from a surging coffee demand
The West Africa Specialty Coffee Association notes a surge in global demand for Nigerian coffee, especially in countries like Japan and Canada. While current revenues hover around $2 billion, the association projects that with governmental support, Nigeria could further tap into the sector's potential.
Related story: Video - Cocoa grown illegally in rainforest in Nigeria heads to companies that supply major chocolate makers
The federal government, on Wednesday, announced that it is making efforts to modify farmers’ databases to get rid of “political farmers” as it plans to kick off the second phase of dry season farming.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, disclosed this in a maiden press briefing organised by the Minister of Information and National Orientation to regain public confidence.
According to him, only genuine farmers will benefit from government-subsidised interventions.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Bola Tinubu administration earlier announced that a lot of agricultural policies meant for farmers were enjoyed by ‘political farmers’: persons linked to politicians but who were not real farmers.
Last year, the ministry launched the first phase of dry season farming under the National Agricultural Growth Scheme Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP) project. The first phase focused on 15 wheat-growing states.
I50,000 hectares of rice to be cultivated in second phase
Mr Kyari said following a key evaluation of the first phase of dry season farming, measures have been taken to ensure the success of the subsequent phase.
He said 150,000 hectares of rice would be cultivated during the second phase, noting that 300,000 genuine farmers are targeted for this. The farmers, he said, would benefit from the government’s subsidised interventions such as fertilisers, herbicides and micronutrients among others.
According to him, the farmers would get three bags of these agro-inputs for free after purchasing half bags.
In addition, he said, 30,000 hectares of maize would be cultivated across the 36 states of the federation. The minister expressed optimism, noting that some state governors have shown interest in the scheme.
Mr Kyari also clarified that 42,000 metric tonnes of grains earmarked for distribution to vulnerable households would be at no cost.
“The 42,000 metric tonnes of food from the national food reserves is free,” he clarified. “We’re trying to crash down the prices of food and make it available.”
“So these 42,000 metric tonnes of food will be given to the needy free of charge. It would go directly to the needy at no cost at all.
“We’ve met with the DSS and NEMA to give us the index. This is to gather intelligence on where it is needed the most, and we are going to look at those indices,” Mr Kyari added.
Idris unveils five-pillar agenda to regain public confidence
In his remarks, the information minister, Muhammed Idris, said his ministry has developed a five-pillar agenda in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope vision.
Mr Idris said the agenda is targeted at restoring trust, amplifying policies and programmes, reorienting national values, modernizing technology and talent, and creating an enabling environment for the media.
“The Ministerial Press Briefing Series (MPBS) that we are kicking off today, are in line with our ‘Restore Trust’ and ‘Amplify Policies and Programmes’ pillars. This is a chance for you, the distinguished members of the press, to engage with senior officials of the federal government, on behalf of the good people of Nigeria,” the minister told journalists.
“You will hear first-hand about what the federal government is doing, policies, programmes, targets and objectives, and you will be able to ask questions and receive relevant clarifications. We have also made efforts to ensure that this Briefing Series receives the widest possible coverage, through traditional and digital platforms,” the minister explained.
Mr Idris said the ministry is “determined to restore trust, confidence and credibility to public communications, by engaging in a timely, proactive and consistent fashion with all our stakeholders, across government, the media, private sector and international community, deploying all available platforms and media.”
He noted that the press briefing will subsequently feature other ministers who will be brought before the press to highlight the government’s efforts in stabilising the country.
ByYakubu Mohammed, Premium Times
Related story: Video - Cocoa grown illegally in rainforest in Nigeria heads to companies that supply major chocolate makers
Nigeria's Dangote oil refinery has issued tenders to sell two fuel cargoes for export, the first from the newly commissioned refinery, trading sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The refinery, Africa's largest with a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, was built on a peninsula on the outskirts of the commercial capital Lagos by the continent's richest man Aliko Dangote.
Nigeria has for years relied on expensive imports for nearly all the fuel it consumes but the $20 billion refinery is set to turn it into a net exporter of fuel to other West African countries, in a huge potential shift of power and profit dynamics in the industry. Dangote declined a Reuters request for comment.
The first cargo is 65,000 metric tons of low-sulphur straight run fuel oil, which Dangote has awarded to Trafigura and is due to load at the end of February, three of the sources said. Trafigura declined to comment.
At least one refiner said they had been offered the cargo by Trafigura without elaborating further.
The second tender is for about 60,000 tons of naphtha, three other sources said. Two of them added that the tender closes on Feb. 15. Loading details were not immediately available.
Sources told Reuters last week that the refinery was preparing to deliver its first fuel cargoes to the domestic market within weeks.
The two fuels on offer are typical products of running light sweet crude through a crude distillation unit (CDU) in a refinery without further upgrading capacity. It is expected to take months for upgrading units to be brought online, experts have said.
The refiner began buying crude in December last year and Nigeria's state-owned oil firm NNPC Ltd has been the main supplier. Dangote has also purchased some U.S. oil and is expected to receive 2 million barrels of U.S. WTI Midland in early March, according to LSEG and Kpler ship tracking.
By Ahmad Ghaddar, Reuters
Related stories: Nigeria seeks operators for state-owned Port Harcourt oil refinery
Video - Nigeria eyes restart of four oil refineries by end of 2024
Nigeria plans to fix its chronic power woes by settling outstanding debts of about $2.16 billion to energy producers and tackling gas supply shortages to generating firms, the power minister said on Wednesday.
Africa's largest economy has 12,500 megawatts of installed capacity but only produces about a quarter of that, forcing households and businesses, including manufacturers to resort to diesel and petrol generators.
Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu told reporters on Wednesday that outstanding debts, inadequate gas supplies and ageing equipment were the key barriers hampering optimal power output.
Adelabu said power generators are currently owed 1.3 trillion naira ($858.65 million), in addition to a $1.3 billion legacy debt from a decade ago.
"Part of preparation to turn around and transform the sector is the settlement of existing outstanding debt obligations to the gas supply and power generation companies using partly cash payments and guaranteed debt instruments," he said.
Last week, Adebalu proposed a naira payment for gas sales to power plants as a solution to solve dollar shortages as costs are expected to balloon after a second currency devaluation in less than a year.
Natural gas is sold in dollars to power plants because investments tied to building gas processors and pipelines are priced and paid for in dollars.
Grid power is erratic in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation. The grid collapsed on Feb. 4, causing a national blackout, and at least three times in 2023, which authorities blamed on technical problems.
By Camillus Eboh, Reuters
Related stories: Video - Nigeria suffers from most power cuts in the world
Video - Nigeria grapples with higher electricity prices amid supply constraints
