The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has appealed to local farmers to adhere strictly to Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) to put an end to the poor market access.
The association said GAP, which is fast becoming the world’s most widely implemented farm certification scheme, was the way to go to drive the nation’s non-oil sector while also earning foreign exchange via export.
The National President of NACCIMA, Iyalode Alaba Lawson, said it was as a result of this concern that its maiden edition of the Agricultural Quality Excellence Award (AQEA) was initiated to recognise and reward quality, adherence to standards and excellence by operators in the nation’s agriculture and agribusiness sector.
The NACCIMA boss who also doubles as chairperson, organising committee for AQEA scheduled to hold on the 20th November, 2018 in Kano, said the agricultural sector is the highest employer of labour in Nigeria and had in the past contributed immensely to the nation’s economy, but regreted that since the discovery of crude oil, government and private sector’s attention shifted from the sector.
She commended the present administration’s effort to diversify the economy, saying that the government is already putting in place several strategies and incentives to incentivise agribusiness, such as the anchor borrower scheme, tax rebate, tax holidays and concession.
“All these incentives are meant to encourage production, processing, marketing, export and other segments of agribusiness in Nigeria. We are of the opinion that the AQEA has the potential to encourage farmers and others in the agric value chain.
“The successes recorded in the agricultural sector such as the rice revolution among others are evidence that we are on the right path”.
She stated that the award is expected to feature the Minister of Agriculture, Audi Ogbeh, Governor, Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje and other Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs).
In another development, Huawei, a global leading ICT solutions provider, in partnership with Nigerian universities is set to cultivate local ICT talents, promote a greater understanding of ICT, increase interest and develop a healthy ecosystem for the sustainable growth of the sector among undergraduates. More than 10,000 students from 15 universities in Nigeria, including University of Nigeria, Ahmadu Bello University, Lead City University, America University of Nigeria and Federal University of Technology are expected to participate in an ICT contest which features learning of various subjects including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, mobile networks and big data.
The talent hunt tagged, “Nigeria ICT Talents Development Summit and Huawei ICT Competition Launch Ceremony” which will be held on Oct. 26th, at the Hilton Convention Centre in Abuja, select universities will also sign MoU with Huawei to launch Huawei Authorized Information and Network Academy (HAINA) programme in these universities. HAINA is a nonprofit ICT career certification program which aims to increase employment opportunities for young people by exposing them to more ICT knowledge and skills required in the job market.
Huawei has now extended its HAINA programme to more than 150 leading universities worldwide, and this will be the first time for Huawei to bring the program to Nigeria.
The Managing Director of Huawei Enterprise Nigeria, Tank Li, said these programmes are in line with Huawei’s sustainability strategy in bridging digital divide, promoting skill transfer and developing a win-win situation with local community.
“As an international ICT innovator, we are committed to working with our academic and industrial partners in Nigeria to create more opportunities for individuals, and businesses in the country.
“Through programs like ICT competition and HAINA, Huawei will continuously contribute to local ICT talents cultivation and practitioners upskilling, to lay a solid foundation for a healthier sectorial growth, fulfillment of government’s digitization strategies and stronger national ICT competitiveness.” he said.