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•’Nigeria earns $.5m from zobo export’
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Abuja said the agricultural sector had witnessed steady and remarkable progress in the last two years, reducing the food import bill of the country.
At a ceremony to receive Letters of Credence from three ambassadors, Buhari said the commendable performance in the agricultural sector had further fuelled the government’s effort at repositioning the economy, with more focus on export of commodities.
“We are very busy in the agricultural sector, and more Nigerians are getting involved,’’ the President told the Ambassador of the Republic of Bangladesh, His Excellency, Maj. Gen. Kazi Sharif Kaikoband.
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The President also received Letters of Credence from Her Excellency, Ms. Maria Saranto, Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Greece and His Excellency, Mr. Anthonio Pedro Da Vinha Da Silva, Ambassador of the Republic of Portugal.
Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh has disclosed that Nigeria earned $3.5million from the exportation of Hibiscus flower (zobo) to Mexico in 2017.
The minister, during a courtesy call by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele said government was able to actualize this through private investment.
Ogbeh also disclosed that the Federal Government had received a N20billion Local Purchasing Order (LPO) from Vietnam for the export of raw cashew, adding that the agricultural activities had created jobs for the unemployed youth in the country.
He commended efforts of the CBN governor in the provision of credits to the farmers, assuring that the farmers would be vigorously monitored on repayment of the loans.
The CBN governor pointed out that the plan of the CBN was to ensure that farmers have easy access to finance at farmer-friendly costs to boost their agricultural activities.
