Processed agricultural produce for export next year

The federal government will begin the processing of agriculture raw materials in 2014; a move which the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga said will save the country a lot of foreign exchange.
"We want to increase the participation of the local people in the nation’s investment profile in 2014," - Olusegun Aganga
“We want to increase the participation of the local people in the nation’s investment profile in 2014,” – Olusegun Aganga

Aganga noted that the country has the capacity to process her agro-allied raw materials for export.
“The conversion of our agro-allied products to finished products within our shores will save a lot of foreign exchange for us,” he said. “As a nation, we will be devaluing our potential if we continue to buy our own raw commodities from other nations that have the technology to convert primary goods to secondary products.
“Internal value addition will reduce the bulk export of our raw materials, which are processed and then sold back to us at exorbitant prices.”
Aganga noted that the ability to process raw materials internally would boost Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, while reducing capital flight.
He said that the Federal Government would initiate investments to achieve results in its One Local Government, One Product Programme (OLOP) initiative in 2014.
The minister said that the initiative was also intended to stimulate grassroots participation in the country’s trade and investment activities.
“We want to increase the participation of the local people in the nation’s investment profile in 2014.
“Our support to each local area will be based on her comparative advantage in the production of a certain commodity which has high export value and revenue potential for Nigeria.
“The Federal Government’s support to each local government area will be based on reliable data that measure the ability, contribution and performance of the local government area’s productive capacity.”
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has indicated its support for the OLOP policy, while urging small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to key into it.
The agency, however, said that the programme ought to be “replicated at the state level” so as to ensure that people at the grass-roots were able to benefit maximally from it.