AGR
"Agriculture isourwisesl pmuiI. ilwiU In !he end conuibule raosI to real weallb, zood morals, And bappnm."
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Senegalese government to host 2012 International AgriBusiness forum he governmenl of Senegal and Belgium based European Markeling Research Company (HMRC) 15 pannerlng to spotllghl Africa's ogric.uhural and agri-food sector polenllal. Agribusiness 20lZ orlanlsed under Ihe patronage of Presidcnt of Ihe Republir of Senegal and the Prime Minister Is being hosled by Senegal Minisuy of Agricullure and RURlEquipment.1hlsyear's AgriBusiness Forum will highlight the Imponance of
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A6ica'sagrlcultuna1~ntia.l
under me theme "Boosting Mrtcan Agricuhure through Partnership, Invesunent and Technology." Over 400 people from acrou lhe world are expecled al Ihls
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- jillt Miller, vice president" EMRC International, and Senegal Mlnlsuy of Agriculture and Rural Equipmem, said the forum, opened to all stakeholders In Ihe agribusiness secmr aU over the globe. will take place from November 2S to 28, lOl21n Dakar; Senegal. According to Maimouna LO, secretary general , Senegal Mlnlslry of Agrlculiure and Rural Equipment, Inciling the privale seclor to Invest In agriculture In Africa Is the Ilrincipal objeculle of the government of Senegal in hosling Ihis Imporlant inlemallonal meeting. the AgrtBusiness Forum ZO I Z. -Already, In Z003 In Mozambique, the Conference of the Heads of Slates of the African Union ensured Ihat heads of scates dedicate at least 10 pe.rce:nl of their budget to agriculture. 10 years lale:r, one: can notice thai this meilsure Is not enough to re:invigorate agricultural de\'elopmenL It Is necessary for Africa to obtain Its food securlly Independence and the: private RClor has .. primary role to play 10 achleft this,- Maimouna LO explained. The fOOim will be held In coliBboriHion wi th the Food and Agrlcu l tunl Organlsalion (FAD), Ihe Rabobank Foundation and Ihe Pan African AgribUSiness and Agro jnduury Coniortium (PaoAAC). "The rorum will showcase the key Issues currently underpinning
the ilgrl-food seclor and highlight expected objectives and buslne:ss projections. International agricultural exper". government oHiclals, multinationals, farme r and private sector associations. donor organisations, civil society. Investors and nnanclers representing Africa,. Europe:, Asiil and me Americas will participate to dlKulS ongoing projects, best practices and suateglc policies with the ai m of estDbl.ishing investmenl alld business partnerships for this seClor, acknowledged as plvolal for the enti re conIine nt's growth; said MUlei'.
This year's focus on pMUlC:rWt.Ip. invcsonent and technology is in parallel with
theGB's2012v1s.1on 10 tackle the issue of food security and me global move ment 10 ensure real growth and suscalnabilhy. -Africa has been the new fro n tier fo r the 8grl· rood Indusll)' since feedl nl the world became a glo b a l Issue In Z008. Today, the Inler-national com mu nity Is going a step further and Insisting that the correCI Investmenl and prlvalepublic partnerships and the appropriate technologies will finally unlock Africa's potential and the wo rl d's growing demand for food . 1I051ing the AgriBusi ness Forum In Senegal will also hlghlJgtu the role West Africa can play and ensure real measures and pannershlps are established: Miller further explained. LaSt year's Agribusiness Forum provided the platform for I h~ Johannesburg Dedaration, jointly signed by the Unhed Na tions Development Progra!pme - SOUl II Africa Bureau and EMRC inler national, highlighting the imponance of public·pffi'3te pannershlp indcvdopingtheconrinl!nt's agribusiness sect~ ensuring food security and murlrlon as well as the crucial role playm by the privale seelOr. The vast agricultural land, acroll Africa n coulllrieshave the capability 10 providl! asignlficalIIshare of the world's agricultu ral oulPUI and globa l food requirements (or 2050. In tum, the agri.food Ind ustry can become a major source oCincome and I!m ployment fOf' an Imponanl pan of the continent's population.
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BUS
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_____________w;,;;;ed:;;".:e;;sd.:a;:;Y:..';;;, 2 September 2012
Multi-Trex, OIam, Obax lead others to invest in Edo agro sector lORIS UMAR MOMOH
Benin e convocation of day agribusinl!ss IWlll1liI by the &10
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staned yielding me upecled resulu as about 18 load and beitvI irMstoni hoM indiated inu!n5t lOiJ1Y5in the awo-busines seaor-ofthesta\£. IrMSIlQleadingthe padare Muid-TreI~OIamNlgel1a
Llmlled, Gml Consulting UmiledMetlllUlleSe/Nigerlan consortium. Ekha BIochemical Industries, Obo Worldwide
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The Edo SIBil' govtmImem had lui April OfpI1iscd a day agriIusines summit 10 pro;ea the agrlcuhunl potenrlal of the stale to local and foreign InveJlol$ In the agrlcultuntl
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Invellon wert applying for about 100,000, SO,OOO, 35,000, ZO,IXX), iO.ooo. ?,(XX). and 5,000
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Indicated IntCIe51 to Invest In palm ou. C8SS1\'a, rice, cocoa ondrublooo Accoldl»g to him , followintl the agro-buslness summit orpnised by the: liWe govemmenl In ApriJ. we have I"CCII!fw!d aIJOIA 18 requests from
potential Investors for land acrtl5S the state for agria.dnuaI
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"We havebecnow:ry,:belmed basically by the reactions of Imtiunsirxz the ~ summit In the stale. I am absol utely confident and comfortable In where we're because lOme of the biggest investoISln lheagro-busines:s in theworld~lhownintereslto
Invest In the swe "We an! now~1D identify
suitable land for them. Some are requesting for as much u 100,000. so,ooo. zo.ooo hecll!res 01 land IJIlOIlg others. Aboul six ofdlelfMSUKSlUeP1l;101maI:
In oU palm production, three on coc:oa. nine on rice. three on cassaw and [M] 011 rubber culilvation and production;
h"old.
The commissioner, who expre&ed happiness thai the
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yielding &ulu, added that some investon had also indicued Inlerest In aqua·adlUre I nd development of ranch, saying dJe5tlUegoYel1\l'l'lellhadsuned proceuing aU the necessary documents and papers for the signing of memorandum of _{MoU)whl..be
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lie e)pesed hope dw 18 MoU wl,uld be signed wilh the inve n'nl berore the end of the yu.r and reiterated the gOIlt:nllnelll's oonunitment to gtvefreel eI ~docmpaor.y (C of 0) ~ Imocswrs imeresud in inwslIllf: in dll! agm- ICOOT intheSUIe
AaxNding 10 him.1he iWC government hal concluded plans to revive some of the moribU! d lagro-Industries in the Aate. I.. the OWn.eJ of the abandOlle1 WaJ-rUr-Agbede Fann hal uomluded plans 10 resurla ea. ~I e added IIlat wi th the bM:st0fli 0 rmbtg fmo dill!: state, the Slat,. ", puklih the ne:Xl 10 yean bt: t~e II[hest salle in the federation, but however assured prospectf¥e lnw:stors of condltl ive and emhlins: busineA eninnoer-..
""'" Barely five months afler the summit, notable foreign and local inveslOn applied for v.ukKah~o( ~ndfrom
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Olhers include, Agrlc
IntegnUld Cocoa Nan limned - A Nlgerian/Ukniul! JoinlVe:nture, Masse Mega NIgeria limited, SekkoIt Fmn Nigeria limited,
l.oJun Multi-Pwposf:
Co-operatM Society limited. Rubb«Esnueoft..'lFia UmltaI,
among others. Abdul Oroh, state commissioner fOr agriculture and narural resource, who disdMed this (n an eu:hwve intervie¥. with BusmessDay In Betin City, said some o{!hI!
I(wara's N70bn rice project starts Decel11ber IIAKAMOMOH ra State drive 10 esillblish luelf as a hub for agricuhure n the West African sub-rqion is gaining ground as itsJoinl venrure pannerfor the N70 billion rice rultivation and processing project, Valselar 5oL. 2006 of Spain, iIl)'llhe project wUI SIan by Decembe& 20 12, BuslnessDay am reveal. This (olloWi Valsolar S.L 2006's acquisition of funds (or me project tha, bas an lnitia.llile span of four years. Conveying the news to the Kwara SUllie government via a letter last week. valsolar 5. 1..
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2006snld following its board's earlier ajlprov;t\ of the project Bnd subsequent acqu!5lt1on of funds for me project, it was ready 10 commence operations within the next 90 days. Reacting to the news, Kwan Slate Governor Abdulhtah Ahmed welcomed the development" as the project Is key to his admlnl5lTation's efrOrlS 10 provide food for the people, jobs for the )outlui and Inputs for ag ro allied Industries, while II the same time growlOg the state's econDmy through agriculture. "I am particularly pleased lbal thii project will be generating 12.000 jobs acroa the value chain as wdI as subslantially
growing tht nate's economy. Our 'armers will also beuefit from the technology D1U1ifer component of the project. No doubt, thls huge project is one of several envisaged undel the Kwara Stale Agricu1rur.tJ Modernisation Plan (RAMP), the rmplememarion ofwhkh will soon commenoe,- he said. Speaking further on tbe project details, AbayomJ Ogunlol., senlol special assistant to the governor on Investment. policy and ItralelY, aaid under Ihe terms or thl! jOint venture Me rnorandum o( Agreement signedbytheswegovemmenl and valsolar SJ.1ast February In ilorin, thl! state's QPiCal, "the company is to Invesl N70 bUlion in the project 0Wf
the next f[>or )'C1I1 while the stale govelllml.![J will provide 20,000 bt.'C:lUe>lrfland as wdI as; Infrasuucrund suppan for the JlfOIt t1 , which will operate under l relisteled JOill1 veDlUre olmrany, VaIsoIar· KWBr>ll!mited." According HIOgunsola. each annual module of the pmJI!d \tlll sce the company cu/dv.Jle 5C~ lltcta.res ofland
and prodl ce 4r)OOO tons of rice for koe and inlernational consu lllplloD , Fo ll owing ntell he and I.boralory soil analyses earlier In me year. Vl.IlJolilr· Kwafll hll decided to sitr the protects in communides along the JUvaNigerln I6.tarI honh. namdy Tsonga. Palegl BadIa and Lafiag.t.llCsaill