Farmers from 14 states of the federation where the perishable cargo
terminals will be located will earn over N101 billion annually in the
first two years and this is expected to increase in subsequent years.
The terminals, which are being located at the food basket regions of the country are expected to transform subsistent farmers into exporters as their produce would be enhanced, stored and packaged for export.
Plans have been laid out on how these farmers will benefit from low interest loans earmarked for them by the federal government through the banks and expansion programme for farm lands which will be facilitated by the state and local governments.
THISDAY learnt that each participating partner state for the Perishable Cargo Airport Transformation Initiative “will have exports totalling between $30-69 million turnover yearly, depending on the value chain they adopt.”
A source from the Ministry of Aviation disclosed that contribution margin of 14 states would be approximately $1 billion and the margin on the National GDP “is considerably high, given the projected employment numbers in each state and the entrepreneurship dynamics. But this figure which will manifest in the first two years is expected to increase from the third year by 35 per cent.”
Countries like Kenya, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast have been benefiting from the export of perishable cargo to the West for years and earnings from such exports boost these nations’ GDP.
The Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah told DAY on how successful the programme would be and the encouragement government is getting from international organisations that would buy the perishable goods from Nigeria.
“The encouragement we are getting from international organisations is immense. The reason for this is because the available potential of that programme is huge. If you look at Kenyan, Ethiopian and South Africa economy such export contribute to their foreign exchange accruals. If you take Kenya alone and do multiplier effect of the country, which is about the size of, let’s say, Enugu state and let’s say you have Kenya’s economy spread over 13 states of Nigeria, government would have holistically bottomed up the growth of our economy. This means that domestic economy of the country at the rural level would have had independent access to international market.”
“It means that our aunties, our cousins, our relations living in rural communities will have access to international market. We would have developed some rural economies that would be independent of allocations from the Federal Government and independent from oil resources. It would be one of the greatest platforms for government to stop rural, urban migration. It will grow employment opportunity; it will have all the value chain properly ad completely developed. It will encourage the growth of new middle class.”
Government has already started the construction of the perishable cargo terminals and it is expected that by end of next year all of them would be completed and the programme involves all the tiers of government and it is also inter-ministerial.
“Government has set up inter-ministerial committee led by aviation because we are key players in the programme, in the sense that we are providing the infrastructure, the platform; so we are working with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Water Resources, because water has to be available; we are working with the Ministry of Finance.
“The Ministry of Agriculture will provide the seedling for the cooperatives. We are also working with the states. The states will have to make it work. We are working with the local government chairmen because they will also have to make it work,” the minister also said.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/farmers-to-earn-n101bn-annually-from-perishable-cargo/155167/
The terminals, which are being located at the food basket regions of the country are expected to transform subsistent farmers into exporters as their produce would be enhanced, stored and packaged for export.
Plans have been laid out on how these farmers will benefit from low interest loans earmarked for them by the federal government through the banks and expansion programme for farm lands which will be facilitated by the state and local governments.
THISDAY learnt that each participating partner state for the Perishable Cargo Airport Transformation Initiative “will have exports totalling between $30-69 million turnover yearly, depending on the value chain they adopt.”
A source from the Ministry of Aviation disclosed that contribution margin of 14 states would be approximately $1 billion and the margin on the National GDP “is considerably high, given the projected employment numbers in each state and the entrepreneurship dynamics. But this figure which will manifest in the first two years is expected to increase from the third year by 35 per cent.”
Countries like Kenya, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast have been benefiting from the export of perishable cargo to the West for years and earnings from such exports boost these nations’ GDP.
The Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah told DAY on how successful the programme would be and the encouragement government is getting from international organisations that would buy the perishable goods from Nigeria.
“The encouragement we are getting from international organisations is immense. The reason for this is because the available potential of that programme is huge. If you look at Kenyan, Ethiopian and South Africa economy such export contribute to their foreign exchange accruals. If you take Kenya alone and do multiplier effect of the country, which is about the size of, let’s say, Enugu state and let’s say you have Kenya’s economy spread over 13 states of Nigeria, government would have holistically bottomed up the growth of our economy. This means that domestic economy of the country at the rural level would have had independent access to international market.”
“It means that our aunties, our cousins, our relations living in rural communities will have access to international market. We would have developed some rural economies that would be independent of allocations from the Federal Government and independent from oil resources. It would be one of the greatest platforms for government to stop rural, urban migration. It will grow employment opportunity; it will have all the value chain properly ad completely developed. It will encourage the growth of new middle class.”
Government has already started the construction of the perishable cargo terminals and it is expected that by end of next year all of them would be completed and the programme involves all the tiers of government and it is also inter-ministerial.
“Government has set up inter-ministerial committee led by aviation because we are key players in the programme, in the sense that we are providing the infrastructure, the platform; so we are working with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Water Resources, because water has to be available; we are working with the Ministry of Finance.
“The Ministry of Agriculture will provide the seedling for the cooperatives. We are also working with the states. The states will have to make it work. We are working with the local government chairmen because they will also have to make it work,” the minister also said.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/farmers-to-earn-n101bn-annually-from-perishable-cargo/155167/
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