Food importation robs Africa of hard-earned foreign exchange

• Firm stresses need for innovative solutions to increase food production in Africa

With a large population, which would be in excess of 206 million by 2020 to feed, and large scale waste of farm produce owing to poor storage and poor processing methods, the need for the country to adopt improved innovative solutions in order to guarantee food security for the improvement of the lives of Nigerians, and by extension that of Africans.

According to Bosch, a leading global supplier of technology and services, it is ready to work with African countries to increase food production in a bid to end the continent continuous dependence on importation of food to feed its population.

Its Group President for Africa, Markus Thill, who spoke in Lagos, at the weekend, at an event tagged, “Bosch In Everything,” said importation of food by African countries is taking away their hard-earned foreign exchange and leaving the region improverished.

He said: “I learned that a lot of sub-Saharan African countries import food for various reasons. We need to play small role in making sure small subsistence farming can be transformed both in value and production. I am thinking about Nigeria and the North East. We should also think about conserving a lot of money in-country, instead of facing foreign exchange issue, and be able to provide food for the local population.

“With an estimated population of more than 206 million by 2020, Nigeria is a strategically important market for Bosch. Our company provides solutions in sectors such as infrastructure, automotive, food processing, and energy, which enhance the quality of life of the growing Nigerian population, by making it safer, easier, and more efficient,” said Thill.

He said the company has introduced different ranges of products in four business sectors namely, mobility solutions, industrial technology, consumer goods and energy and building technology to improve the quality of life of Nigerians.

According to him, in the coming years, the firm plans to further increase its business in the country and also provide significant value-addition to the Nigerian economy and population.

Toward this end, he said the firm is poised to play a big role in transportation to ensure people in Africa get to work in an affordable, safe and efficient manner, even as he added that the firm is training engineers in latest mining technology, oil and gas, and other areas in Nigeria to improve capacity.