Group managing director of Union Bank of Nigeria PLC, Emeka Emuwa, has urged African nations to invest more in agriculture as it would help to bring to an end the scourge of poverty in the continent.
Emuwa gave this advice in Lagos at the international conference organised by the African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (AFRACA) sponsored by Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.
The managing director argued that making agriculture more productive is the best way to improve the financial flow to the agricultural sector and rural communities is through a deep and enhanced understanding of the components of the value chain.
In his welcome address at the conference with the theme, “Propelling Economic Development through Functional Agricultural Value Chain Financing Models: Lessons Learnt and Emerging Opportunities, he said making agriculture more productive a sure way to tackle the scourge of poverty in the continent.
He said it is unfortunate that there has been a decline in the sector due to the emergence of other economic sectors in Africa.
Citing the example of Nigeria, Emuwa told the conference that the emergence of oil and gas sector that stunted the agricultural sector.
He said that Union Bank has been supporting agriculture over the years ;stressing that in the current financial year, Union Bank will be engaging directly with farmers in order to have a deep understanding of the entire segments of the business, so as to inject more funds than what they have been invested in the past.
“We will continue to invest in agriculture. In the past years, agriculture has played a significant part in our business but we want to look at the entire value chain more intently. We want to engage with the rural farmers directly and not just from policy level”, he added.
Also speaking at the conference, the Lagos state commissioner for agriculture, Prince Gbolahan Lawal, who represented the deputy governor of the state, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, quoted one professor as saying that it is only in agriculture that the battle for economic development will be lost and won.
He admitted that with the present three percent lending, Nigeria is not yet there. He said that the theme of the conference was good, saying that though the Lagos state is not rearing cattle heads, the state is interested in what happens to processing of beef.
Informing further that to him, about 6000 cows are slaughtered every day in Lagos, Gbolahan urged financial institutions to finance the butchers to procure modern vehicles and upgrade their beef processing adding that the are stakeholders in the provision of beef. He said that the state government is focused on area where it has both competitive and comparative advantage like fishing, poultry, vegetable and rice farming.
