Nigeria Must Improve Agricultural Produce to Benefit From AfCFTA – Ex NACCIMA DG

A former Director-General of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), John Isemede, has said Nigeria must add value to its agricultural produce before export to benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Speaking during an interview with newsmen, Isemede said Nigeria was ripe to begin to add value to its raw/crude produce to catch up with the rest of the world. “For us to achieve this, we must add value to our raw materials, remove all the restrictions, all the roadblocks, provide incentives and support to manufacturers,” he said.

Furthermore, he complained that the national export strategic plans were missing in the 2022 Budget document. Isemede, therefore, urged the Federal Government to encourage the exportation of agricultural produce for foreign exchange earnings.

Meanwhile, experts have explained that AfCFTA has the potential to be a catalyst for the industrialisation of Africa and could place the continent on a path to export value-added products and improve its competitiveness both in local markets and globally.

source Agro Nigeria