…as agribusinesses resort to backward integration
Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has inaugurated both the steering and technical committees for the Framework for Responsible Investment in Land-Intensive Agriculture (FRILIA).
Governor Sule inaugurated the two committees during a ceremony at the Government House on Monday.
According to the Governor, with agriculture playing a pivotal role in the economic development of the state, full implementation of FRILIA would not only attract large-scale private agricultural investments, but also ensure shared benefits for both investors and host communities.
He added that the FRILIA framework, as part of a World Bank economic transformation agenda programme, equally seeks to align his administration with best international practices, ensuring an environment of healthy environmental and social practices.
“The FRILIA will increase Nasarawa State’s attractiveness for private investment and minimize potential conflicts between communities and investors, as well as the herder/farmer conflict in the state,” he said.
While acknowledging that his administration recognizes the necessity of developing and implementing the FRILIA towards ensuring the large-scale agribusiness investments align with global best practices, Governor Sule said the steering committee will oversee the implementation of FRILIA and be responsible for providing strategic direction, monitoring progress and addressing challenges associated with the implementation.
“This is informing the reason why our administration continues to create an enabling environment for agribusiness to thrive. In line with this, we issued the Executive Order No. 3, 2023, that adopted the FRILIA. To further consolidate this effort and achieve the desired objectives, we are, therefore, today inaugurating the FRILIA steering and technical committees,” he added.
He explained that the chairmen and members of the committees were carefully selected from relevant business and agriculture related MDAs in order to ensure that the state does not only meet the SABER requirements but also ensure adequate stakeholders engagement in all business related investments.
The Governor assured his administration will continue to support businesses in the agribusiness sector, especially since it provides much needed food and wealth for the people.
This us just as Governor Sule hinted that commercial agribusinesses in the country are now resorting to backward integration as a result of challenges of foreign exchange.
He said that most of these commercial agribusinesses are seeking to expand their local businesses thereby creating more demands for fertile land.
“Just yesterday, I received the new team that came to the Tunga Dangote project. They came in order to look for the opportunity to acquire more site. Because most of the commercial agribusiness investors have realized that with the foreign exchange challenges recently, they have realized it is difficult for them now not to go into backward integration.
“As a matter of fact, most of those businesses, in sugar, flour, and the rest of that, from what I was told, declared loss for the first in many years in their 2023 results. Therefore, they have now realized the importance of backward integration. Just yesterday, I was unofficially informed that Dangote, instead of having just one facility in Tunga where they are going to have 18000 TCD to be crushed, they are now having two. One 18000 and another having 9000 TCD up there somewhere around Azara, Akiri, or Wuse areas.
“This is all in line with the fact that we are providing the environment, our communities are willing to work together with the rest of the people. This committee will play a key role in the acquisition of additional land in order for them to have additional area they can have sufficient cane to crush,” he stated.
Similarly, he disclosed further that another 60, 000 tones per year rice mill will be established in the Akunza area, with the company already expressing interest to acquire land for the cultivation of rice in Assakio and Doma.
The Governor therefore charged members of the committees and other relevant stakeholders to ensure the diligent implementation of the agricultural investments in the state in line with FRILIA principles.
In a vote of thanks, Chairman of the Steering Committee and Deputy Governor of the State, Dr. Emmanuel Akabe, thanked his principal for finding them worthy of appointments into the committees.
Dr. Akabe noted that, for any nation to indeed fight poverty and hunger, attention must be given to agriculture, while pointing out that Nasarawa State is endowed with arable land that can take any kind of crop.
“We know your drive. We know your principle. We know your sincerity. We know your zeal. We know your commitment. We are going to work assidously to ensure that the objectives of FRILIA are achieved,” he stated.
Earlier, Chairman of the Technical Committee and Managing Director/CEO of Nasarawa State Investment Development Agency (NASIDA), Ibrahim Abdullahi, said the inauguration of the two committees is a critical step toward meeting our requirements for participation in SABER for 2024.
He recalled that in 2023, Governor Sule issued an Executive Order No 3, adopting the framework for FRILIA, a demonstration of the determination of this administration to ensure that large-scale agribusiness are in line with international good practices.
The FRILIA Steering Committee has Dr. Akabe as Chairman, Ibrahim Abdullahi as Secretary with Commissioners from Ministries of Lands and Urban Development, Finance, Budget and Planning, Environment and Mineral Resources, as well as the Attorney-General/Commissioner of Justice as members.
Others are Commisioners from Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Local Government, Community Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Women Affairs and Social Development, DG NAGIS, and MD NUDB also as members.
On the other hand, the FRILIA Technical Committee has MD/CEO of NASIDA as Chairman.
The steering committee is expected to promote transparency in land acquisition and resettlement for large-scale agribusiness investments, amongst several other functions.
