Some stakeholders on Wednesday intensified awareness campaign aimed at advancing food security and accelerating Nigeria’s economic growth through value creation, export promotion and institutional collaboration.
Dr Chinedu Amadi, Publisher of Trade Horizon Magazine, said this at the Nigerian Commodity Leadership and Exporters Recognition Awards (NCLERA) in Abuja.
Amadi said that the NCLERA recognised individuals driving national productivity and encouraged others to contribute to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expansion.
He said that the forum featured technical discussions on improving food security, adding that enhancing production, processing and value addition remained critical to sustaining Nigeria’s economic stability.
He said that the NCLERA awards aimed to motivate leaders who create measurable impact, promote business growth and support national efforts to overcome financial and security challenges.
He said that the event celebrated innovators who demonstrated that Nigeria could produce competitively, create value, export quality products and earn foreign exchange to strengthen the economy.
According to him, five recipients received special recognition awards for their exceptional roles in industry development and contributions to Nigeria’s economic resilience.
Amadi said that the initiative mirrored sustainable practices from other sectors, to elevate achievers and showcase models capable of transforming the country’s value-chain systems.
He said that states supporting digital integration and institutional reforms were also honoured for advancing systems that enhance transparency, productivity and long-term economic competitiveness.
Amadi commended the stakeholders for their commitment, adding that the awards serve as a handshake of appreciation to individuals and institutions making significant contributions to national development.
He said the NCLERA aimed to boost Nigeria’s non-oil exports by promoting transparency, productivity, and measurable value in the trade sector.
Ms Annabel Kamuche, Managing Director of NICERT, said that Nigeria must identify crops where each state has comparative advantage and organise farmers into clusters to boost productivity and strengthen the agricultural value chain.
Kamuche said that clustering farmers would make it easier to apply standard operating procedures, provide common facilities, improve mechanisation and ensure access to irrigation, extension services and value addition.
She said that preserving commodities remained a major challenge, as poor handling practices and misuse of chemicals continued to affect quality of products and limit Nigeria’s competitiveness in export markets.
She emphasised the need for a sustainable awareness across the value chain to close knowledge gaps, improve standards and ensure Nigerian products were accepted in export markets.
The National Secretary, Cowpea and Beans Farmers Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr Isaac Ojonugwa, described the event as an encouragement for cultural and agricultural development.
Ojonugwa said that the programme would help to boost food security and promote export of local commodities.
He said that the event would also motivate more Nigerians to engage in farming, processing, and marketing, enabling the country to compete globally in agricultural production and value addition.
He said that government’s participation in production and export was vital for earning foreign exchange.
According to him, no economy can thrive without agriculture and farmers should produce, process, and market responsibly.
Follow us on all social media platforms @dailyquery for news and analyses around the globe.
