Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo says it is becoming clearer
that Africa, and indeed Nigeria, is the food basket of the world.
Speaking at the Nigerian-German Investment Dialogue in
Berlin, Germany, Osinbajo said Nigeria is a leading investment destination for
potential and serious investors.
“He said consumer spending in Africa was $1.4 trillion by
2015, with Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa accounting for more than half of
that total,” Osinbajo said.
“There is also increasing economic opportunities in Nigeria
because of deliberate actions by our government to diversify the economy and
improve the business environment.
“It is encouraging that there are significant economic ties
between Nigeria and Germany. Germany is a significant exporter to Nigeria,
which is its second largest trading partner in Africa.
“Recent reports show that German investment in Nigeria
contributes as much as $1 billion in turnover annually. This is good, but we
must agree that there is scope for even deeper collaboration given that
Nigeria’s GDP is close to $500bn.”
The professor of law said agriculture perhaps presents one
of the best investment opportunities in Nigeria, stating that only three years
ago the country was importing $5 million worth of rice daily.
“Today we produce locally 10 million metric tonnes of paddy
rice annually. And we are importing only two percent of our rice consumption
now,” Osinbajo said.
“Investments in milling capacity has risen astronomically
since then, with one investor putting a million tonnes of milling capacity into
the market.
“Carlos Farms, a Mexican fruit and vegetable investor, had
initially planned to grow bananas and pineapples for export; until he
discovered that he was making more money selling his bananas locally at $3
dollars a kilogramme, for what he would have been paid only a dollar per kg in
Europe.
“With a substantial percentage of the world’s arable land
and over half of that uncultivated, it is becoming clearer that the world will
be looking to Africa, and Nigeria in particular, as its food basket.
“Just to take China’s demand alone, China has 27% of the
world’s population, but only 7% of the world’s arable land for agriculture.
China needs 2 million tonnes of hybrid Soya beans per annum for livestock feed
and vegetable oil. But we have not met that demand.”
NIGERIA’S NICKEL
WORLD CLASS AND UNUSUAL
He added that “one heart-warming development is that with
the priority given to the revitalization of the mining sector, a nickel deposit
was found in Kaduna State which has been described as ‘world class and highly
unusual”.
“We are also diversifying within oil, while adding that
Nigeria is already exporting urea since it is producing more than enough for
its domestic needs and in the very near future.
“In the service sector, about 1.8 million international
travellers spend two nights on average at Nigeria’s estimated 10,000 hotel
rooms yearly.
“This generated about US$210 million in revenue for the
industry in 2017, which barely reflects on Nigeria’s US$500 billion GDP size.
“Nigeria’s hotel industry alone is projected to grow by
double digits by 2020, as the sector bounces back post-recession to one of the
fastest growing in the world, and the possibilities for investors is
significant.”
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Which food basket when hunger is everywhere in Nigeria, I don't understand, is that this Buhari government did not really know that people are dying under his watch? with so much hunger in the land? suicidal everywhere?
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