FG , private sector partner on oil palm industry revitalization

The Federal Government has said that it will work together with
stakeholders in the oil palm value chain to grow and develop the oil
palm industry in line with the Federal Government’s Industrial
Revolution Plan .
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, said
this during a meeting with the Plantation Owners Forum of Nigeria, the
National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria, and the Vegetable and
Edible Oil Processors Association of Nigeria, in Abuja.
Aganga noted that the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment would
work with all the stakeholders in the industry to develop a holistic
and integrated policy that will fast-track the growth and development
of the sector.
Aganga said: “No nation has developed from being a poor to a rich
nation by relying heavily on producing and exporting its raw
materials without a vibrant and robust industrial base and services
sector.
“Our country is blessed with abundant human and natural resources to
become a great nation in no time, especially given the ongoing
transformation and reforms being carried out by President Goodluck
Jonathan’s administration.
“In order to diversify and grow our economy through industrialization,
we have already developed and begun the implementation of the Nigeria
Industrial Revolution Plan, which has identified strategic areas where
Nigeria has comparative advantage.
“One of such areas is agri-business.
“We will work together with all stakeholders in the oil palm industry
to develop a holistic policy to grow and develop the sector.”
The minister stressed that the NIRP placed high premium in converting
raw materials into finished products through value addition, adding
that the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment was partnering the
manufacturing sector to remove barriers to increased productivity in
order to increase the capacity utilization of the real sector in order
to create jobs and generate wealth the country.
He said: “We are committed to providing a conducive environment to
support the growth and development of the industrial sector.
“The meeting with the coalition of stakeholders in the oil palm
industry value chain afforded us the opportunity to appraise the
problems militating against achieving the full potentials of the
sector, especially as it relates to increasing their capacity
utilization and job creation.
“We are ready to partner all the stakeholders to resolve the issues raised.”
Speaking during the meeting, the Executive Secretary, Plantation
Owners Forum of Nigeria, Fatai Afolabi, solicited the assistance of
the Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment in industrializing the
sector, adding that stakeholders in the industry were ready to key
into the Industrial Revolution Plan of the Federal Government in order
to move the sector forward.
Afolabi said: “For the past 20 years, this is the first time for us
to get the opportunity of meeting a sitting minister in charge of
industry despite all our efforts.
“We want to thank Mr. Olusegun Aganga for his passion and commitment
towards industrializing the country.
“We are confident that if the present momentum is sustained and
improved upon, local production and processing of oil palm in Nigeria
will experience the desirable turnaround within the next three to five
years.”