SIR: In 2017, I was co-opted into a team under the banner of a registered company that was poised to leverage on the opportunities that existed in the ginger value chain as an anchor company in the CBN-Anchor Borrowers’ Programme now under NIRSAL in anticipation of the inclusion of ginger to the list of crops under the programme.
The idea behind value addition is basically to increase the economic value of primary agricultural commodities. There’s more to be gained in adding value to agricultural commodities than merely exporting in their primary state. The continued export of the commodities at their primary state negates the agricultural promotion policy of the current administration which is aimed at unlocking the country’s agricultural potentials, reduce dependence on crude oil and promote the growth of the economy.
Nigeria and by extension Africa is losing substantially due to the failure in adding value to their produce. According to the boss of the Nigeria Export Promotion Council , for Nigeria and other major exporting countries of Cocoa to take a big chunk of the over $82 billion global Cocoa/Chocolate industry, there was need to attract investments in the area of capacity building and provision of cutting edge equipment for processing and value addition.