The Nation Newspaper

Category: Industry

  • Illicit trade: Blame regulatory failure not porous borders, says UNIDO consultant

    A United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) consultant, John Isemede, has said the influx of fake and substandard goods into the country is not due to the nation’s porous borders but poor regulatory framework by the Nigeria Customs.

    He said the Customs should be held accountable for the substandard goods found in every nook and cranny of the country, as it is the agency saddled with the responsibility of checking imports.

    Isemede stated this at a roundtable on “Business Environment & Excise Duty: Maximising economic opportunities through effective anti-illicit trade enforcement”, organised in Lagos by the Initiative For Public Policy Analysis (IPPA) during the week.

    He accused Customs officers of compromising the national assignment for self aggrandisement, stressing that they only confiscate and impound the goods of those who fail to pay their way through.

    The UNIDO consultant said that Seme Border was the busiest in Africa, adding that the volume of illicit trade going on there was alarming.

    He said the country was overloaded with imports, adding that policy enforcement on illicit trade should be intensified.

    Isemede advised that the government should review the membership of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA)  such that the Organised Private Sector (OPS) will take centre stage in contrast with the current arrangement with paucity of infrastructure.

    He added that the government could also consider the coming back of the Commodity Board to optimise the nation’s comparative advantage.

    In his presentation, a senior researcher and fellow at IPPA and University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom (UK), Olajide Damilola, noted that Nigeria was yet to be captured by the Global Illicit Trade Index (GITEI), the body rating countries on illegal trade, due to unavailability of data.

    He outlined some of the critical factors considered to be contributing to illicit trade as government policy, supply and demand of illicit products, lack of transparency and trade environment and Customs enforcement.

    Isemede pointed out that illicit trade was a global phenomenon whose solution should be global in nature, with international cooperation and harmonisation of laws and regulations beyond borders. He cited the global fight against money laundering as an example.

    He recommended that a holistic approachwas required which would involve strategies beyond the jurisdiction of a country, stating that there can be no single policy framework to address the problem but a case-to-case approach targeting products.

  • Medium-term development plan a fraud, says don

    A professor of Economics at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Omo Aregbeyen, has described the country’s medium-term economic development plan as a fraud.

    Aregbeyen, who disclosed this on Friday in Lagos, during the presentation of an industrialisation report, by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), noted that economic policies have failed at virtually every stage of the policy management process.

    He  regretted that the most recent economic recovery plan of the government was developed in Singapore, arguing that Nigeria has uncountable number of professors of Economics that would have done better, as Singapore consultants do not understand the country’s terrain.

    Aregbenyen said: “Economic Development Plans fail because the government often engage foreigners that do not understand the dynamics of the Nigerian economy with the responsibility of development planning. What works in Singapore cannot work in Nigeria, because Nigeria is different from them. They are different cultural entities, different ideologies of life, and there is difference in governance and commitment.

    “Why do we have to take economic growth recovery plan to Singapore when we have the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) if there was no ulterior motive.”

    He pointed out that poor policy formulation, inadequate financial resources, poor sequencing, frequent policy shift and others contribute to poor economic development

    He maintained that the Nigerian economy can only grow if the development plan and policies are domesticated, stressing that the developed countries would do anything humanly possible to keep African economies down.

  • Firm launches low caffeine energy drink

    Poised to satisfy the needs of health-conscious consumers, MAMBA Energy  Drinks Ltd has launched a new drink into the market.

    Its General Manager, Mrs. Titilola Adedeji, explained the rationale behind the launch of the new product in Lagos.

    She said the exercise signaled her outfit’s intention to make their  unique energy drink available to Nigerian consumers.

    She said: “Our new energy drink is unlike our competitors’  as it is carefully and expertly formulated and configured to align with the lifestyle choice of health-conscious consumers, because of its  low caffeine and taurine contents. It is more than just the typical energy drink. It contains citric-acid, an oxidant which enhances skin regeneration, smoothness and perfection”.

    On how she intends to beat competition, she said the quality of her product would speak for them in addition to their marketing strategy. She said Mamba is a premium energy drink with a fine fragrant taste made specifically for the African market.

    Her words: “In addition, our winning formulation with reduced caffeine and taurine contents make it suitable for all except children  and  pregnant women.” She said though they were importing the drink currently but her organisaton was working hard to achieve local production.

    On her  view on the latest increase on excise duties of some products like alcohol, tobacco by the federal government, Mrs. Adedeji  stated that it  is affecting  them  but quickly added that they don’t mind paying tariffs as far as  it would be used to improve  the state of the economy  by improving infrastructure.

  • NAADI opens Kano office

    The Federal Government has begun textiles, groundnuts and other products commercialisation.

    The first step is the establishment of the Kano Zonal Office for the implementation of the Nigeria Agribusiness and Agro-Industry Development Initiative (NAADI).

    Speaking at the flag-off of the office, Minister of State, Trade and Investment Mrs Aisha Abubakar said the initiative would focus on textiles and garments, hide and skin, livestock, fisheries, rice, sesame, groundnuts, tomato and pepper.

    Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Edet Akpan, the minister expressed optimism that the process would bring about poverty reduction, human capital develop-ment and prosperity to many.

    She said NAADI would facilitate the achievement of productive and profitable value chains as well as greater agribusiness participation in domestic and international markets.

    Mrs Abubakar decried the dependence on importation of manufactured products, which run into several billions of dollars yearly.

    She said the trend hadaffected “the required value-chain linkage between agriculture and industry which has not allowed us to move our agricultural products to industrial level for the final production of finished goods, products and equipment”.

    Mrs Abubakar said NAADI coordinating offices had been established in Akure, Bauchi, Uyo, Owerri, and Sokoto.

  • eSwatini gets EU’s $44m loan

    The Kingdom of eSwatini, former Swaziland and a small landlocked monarchy in southern Africa has received a loan of $44 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB).

    The country known for its wilderness reserves and festivals showcasing traditional Swazi culture was presented the money during the week.

    The money which will be directed towards funding an agricultural project was presented by a delegation from EIB which was led by Head of Division Africa – Public Sector Diederick Zambon.

    It was received by Finance Minister Martin Dlamini at his offices.

    Also to witness the presentation was Economic Planning and Development Minister Prince Hlangusemphi who said, this will finance the third phase of the Lower Usuthu Smallholder Irrigation Project (LUSIP III).

    The prince said this project will benefit about 2259 homesteads, 59 per cent of which are led by women by completion of an off-river storage reservoir to impound 155 million cubic metres of water harvested from wet season flood flows in the Usuthu River.

    LUSIP is a poverty alleviation initiative situated in the Lowveld vegetation region of eSwatini.

    It is project aims to benefit 4 600 households (34 000 people) through transforming subsistence farmers into commercial farmers of irrigated lands producing cash and food crops.

    In its first phase, the project has constructed dams and a tertiary distribution system to irrigate the first 6 500 hectares.

     

  • NIPR confab for August 30

    The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations Lagos State Chapter’s fifth Public Relations Stakeholders’ Conference will hold on August 30 at the MUSON Centre. It will address the communication and reputation challenges of Made-in-Nigeria goods.

    The conference is a bridge-building initiative to interact and proffer solutions to the social, political and economic challenges plaguing our nation.

    The edition, themed: “Addressing communication and reputation challenges of Made-in-Nigeria,” will feature distinguished speakers, including Senate President Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, who will speak on the topic: “Adopting legislation to promote and protect Made-in-Nigeria,” while the Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Export Promotion Council, Olusegun Awolowo, will present a paper entitled: “Government position on the challenge facing Made-in- Nigeria.”

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is the chief host.

    The conference will engage key stakeholders, including decision makers in government, state, regulators, corporate organisations, manufacturers, major chambers of commerce and industries in Nigeria, the media and communication practitioners for better perspectives and strategies to address the communication and reputation challenges facing Made-in- Nigeria.

    On the conference, the Chairman, Lagos NIPR, Olusegun McMedal, said: “The overdependence on importation has had a serious adverse effect on our economy, and it has also affected the GDP of the nation. This edition of the conference is to set the stage to engage stakeholders to discuss and aggregate collective intelligence to change the negative narratives plaguing made in Nigeria, and develop a new framework using communication as the core to boost positive perception.”

    “Building on the success of the previous four editions, this conference will be heralded by a Stakeholders’ 2Kilo Meter Walk for Made in Nigeria from the MAN House, Awolowo Road, Ikeja to the Office of the Governor of Lagos State, at the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

    “The Conference will climax with the Stakeholders and Sponsors Recognitions. This will recognize preselected govern-ment ministries, departments and agencies, corporate bodies, NGOs and people that have greatly contributed to the development of Made in Nigeria over the years and celebrate sponsors for supporting the project to promote Made in Nigeria.”

    Previous editions featured distinguished speakers, including the President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; former Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola; Founder/Chairman, Silverbird Group, Senator Ben Murray Bruce; and Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu.

    The Lagos Public Relations Stakeholders’ Conference is the brainchild of Addefort Limited, a public relations and concept development firm.

  • ‘Why we are stimulating juice sub sector

    The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) will give 20,000 improved seedlings to farmers to boost the fruit juice sub-sector, its Director-General, Dr. Hussaini Dikko Ibrahim,

    The agency has distributed improved mango and citrus seedlings that would improve their shelf life cut down on post-harvest losses.

    Ibrahim disclosed that over 16,000 improved seedlings of mango and citrus were distributed to fruit farmers in the Southwest and Northcentral for the 2018 planting season.

    He added that the seedlings were produced last year while the distribution was in the second quarter of this year when the rains started in the zones.

    He said: “In May 2018, 4,000 seedlings of two varieties of mango –  Kate exotic species and Ogbomoso mango were distributed to farmers at a ceremony held at the FUMMAN farm in Ajaawa, Ogbomoso, Oyo State. The exercise will be yearly until adequate planting materials are available in sustainable quantities.”

    Listing other interventions by the council to prolong shelf life of fruits and develop the sub-sector, Ibrahim said aside training farmers and building their capacity to comply with global standards in fruit juice processing, the council partnered with other agencies to develop seedlings with better varieties to reduce post-harvest losses.

    On the challenges in the sector, he explained that they collaborated  with the fruit juice group of the food, beverages and tobacco sector of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in organising  a stakeholders’ forum on sourcing of raw materials for the industry in Lagos.

    On the complaint of fruit manufacturers on the lack of what they called elite materials for fruit juice production, he said they partnered with the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB), National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) and FUNMAN Agro-products Industries Ltd to develop improved varieties of pineapple, banana, mango and citrus using tissue culture technique.

    Furthermore he said  the project provided an opportunity to drive the deployment of the improved varieties and to promote investment in tropical fruits cultivation and processing while assisting in  reducing the importation of fruits for processing locally.

    He said: “It has also made the fruits more available and affordable to the populace. The project has also addressed the goals of import substitution through increased local sourcing and promotion of utilization of local raw materials”.

    He also said one  of the foremost achievements of the project was that NACGRAB, NIHORT, NABDA have been upgraded to efficiently and effectively undertake development and multiplication of seedlings of most tropical fruits.

    The Federal Government in 2002 placed an import ban on fruit juices in retail packs, fruit juice drinks, fresh and dried fruits, a move that made fruit juice manufacturing companies to establish orchards to feed their plants. However, local farmers have continued to battle with the nation’s severe climatic conditions which results to about 30-50 per cent loss and up to 100 per cent in severe conditions as most of these fruits get spoilt on the way before getting to the final consumers in the urban centres. The RMRDC boss noted that while the nation continues to find how to ameliorate the severe effects of the nation’s climate on the fruit juice subsector, the agency would continue to engage farmers and other strategic stakeholders to see a massive development of the sector.

    He pledged the preparedness of the council to the development of the sub sector in the manufacturing industry.

  • Farmers raise alarm over agrochemicals adulteration

    The growing market for agrochemicals estimated to be in excess of $308.92 billion by 2025 has attracted counterfeiters whose activities are flooding the country with huge quantities of fake products.

    It is estimated that over 70 per cent of Nigeria’s close to 190 million people are said to be farmers.

    Agrochemicals, such as fertiliser, pesticides, fungicides and insecticides are commonly used in agriculture to control weeds, pests, improve crop performance and yields.

    Fraudsters and counterfeiters are eying the global agrochemical market estimated to net $266 billion in 2021, according to statistics.

    Experts say over 20 percent  of that market share will be lost globally to the adulteration and counterfeiting industry.

    It is believed that the growing agrochemicals market in Nigeria is driven by a rapid population expansion, demand for food and more people showing interest in farming.

    Recently, regulators, such as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control(NAFDAC) raised the alarm over the influx of adulterated and substandard agro-chemicals in many stores across the country.

    Speaking in Kano during the public sensitisation workshop organised by the duo to educate farmers and agro-chemical dealers on the dangers of substandard and adulterated inputs in manufacturing process and farming,  NAFDAC Director-General Dr. Moji Christiana Adeyeye said the situation was counterproductive to the country’s drive to rejuvenate its agro-economy, and pledged the preparedness of her agency to deal decisively with those on the wrong side of the law.

    Contributing SON Director-GEneral Mr. Osita  Aboloma said most of the products in the markets are substandard and adulterated.

    According to him, investigations by his agency reveal that a larger percentage of agrochemicals in the market are substandard, containing contaminated contents or do not contain any active ingredients.

    Others country of origin, he said, are falsified or re-labelled or expired.

    Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Kano State chapter, Farouq Rabi’u Mudi, said for long, farmers in the Northwest region had been suffering losses in their yearly output due to wrong use of substandard chemicals on their farmlands.

    The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has warned: “Every pesticide user should avoid choosing products whose origin is not guaranteed. The efficacy of the products cannot be guaranteed and they can be more toxic to humans and the environment than products from a bona fide source as they contain toxic impurities normally eliminated by reputable manufacturers.”

    Experts at Arjo Solution, an international firm in authentication and traceability solutions to combat counterfeiting, parallel markets and illicit trade said: “The use of fake products generates lands depletion, compromises crop yield and threaten farmers’ health.”

  • MAN, Lagos to sign MoU on Safety standards

    TheManufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Ikeja branch is to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Lagos State Safety Commission to ensure that its members comply with accepted safety standard.

    The branch Chairman, Otunba Francis Meshioye, stated this during the private session of the 51st Annual General Meeting of the association at MAN Centre, Ikeja, Lagos.

    He listed agreements contained in the MoU to include the suspension of the use of consultants to audit member companies; registration by the respective companies of all their health, safety and environment managers and officers with the commission at the rate of N10,000 per year.

    According to him, the MoU also provides that registered safety consultants auditing member companies will pay a registration and licence fee of N65,000 while unregistered safety consultants auditing member companies will pay a registration fee of N115,000.

    Safety reports of member companies would only be recognised if submissions are made by registered consultants, he added.

    The MoU would also specify that safety certificate be issued to companies at the cost of N15,000 annually after the companies must have been visited by the harmonised team and found to have met the required standards, the MAN chairman said.

    There would be annual review of safety report at the cost of N10,000, the MAN chapter chairman noted.

    Meanwhile, Meshioye predicted that the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, if implemented the way it is, will only lead to the collapse of the rest of the surviving manufacturing companies in Nigeria.

    He said this in his address presented at the AGM themed “African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement; Impact on the Nigerian manufacturing sector”.

    He decried poor preparations, lack of consultations and non-inclusion of input by key stakeholders as regards market access and enforcement of the rules of origin during the initial negotiations towards the signing of the trade pact.

    He said that until the grey areas identified by stakeholders were properly addressed, signing the agreement would be inimical to the growth and survival of businesses in the country.

    MAN President Dr. Frank Jacobs, in his address, noted that as a concept in principle, the association was not against the AfCFTA agreement, adding that the original contention was that the National Office for Trade Negotiations did not undertake adequate consultation with relevant stakeholders.

    He said the association would continue to negotiate and ensure that the concerns of manufacturers were addressed and were adequately represented at further negotiations before Nigeria would sign the trade pact.

    In a paper delivered by professor of Economics at the University of Ibadan and Chairman, Centre                                                                                                                                                for Trade and Development Initiatives (CTDI), Bodija, Ademela Oyejide, he said attention should be paid to the projected adjustment costs, the current state of the productive sectors, especially manufacturing in terms of their capacity for absorbing increased import competition as well as for effectively responding to emerging market access opportunities from other countries.

    He said negotiation mandate should include at least the following four key elements: phasing the liberalisation process, offensive agenda, defensive agenda, and balance of concessions.

    He suggested that Nigeria should argue for implementing the trade liberalisation in the AFCFTA through liner tariff cuts in the context of three phases, adding  ‘‘ Each of these phase should cover 30percent of tariff lines that are subject to liberalisation and last five years.

    In other words, tariff rates in Phase 1 should be reduced by 20 percent each year over the first five years period to reach zero at the end of the first five years. Phase 2 tariffs should follow this liberalisation schedule to reach zero at the end of 10 years; and Phase 3 tariffs, following a similar schedule would reach zero at the end of 15 years. Thus, the goal would have been achieved on time, following this staggered sequence”.

  • Autodesk Africa: Adopt digital technology to grow construction industry

    Nigeria will maximise its full potential in the construction and manufacturing industry and make improved frontline at the international market if practitioners and all stakeholders in the industry embrace digital innovations.
    Experts from Autodesk Inc., a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software had made this known advising Nigerians to be opened for the adoption of digital technologies in the construction industry.

    The Company made the call at a one day forum with the theme: “The Future of Making Things” recently in Lagos.

    According to the Autodesk Africa’s Country Manager, Simon Bromfield advanced technology in construction may seem like an oxymoron, but the industry is a new frontier for innovation.

    He stated that; with the digital innovation, maufacturing industry in Nigeria will be opened to more Foreign Direct Investment among other economic propensities.

    He said, “Contractors are pressured on many sides, operating in a market driven by money and risk. Securing a profitable place in tomorrow’s market will be linked to a contractor’s ability to innovate.

    “We urgently need to focus on the future- the future of making things with technology. When you see how this connectivity influences every facet of a construction site—improving the efficiency, safety, and cost—it is not even a question of whether the industry will move in this direction, only how quickly”.

    Also speaking at the event, Managing Partner, ZDesign & Development Consulting Ltd., Arc. Chike Chamberlain Ibeanu said, “The future is about collaborating in ways that previously weren’t possible. It is about having access to knowledge throughout the entire BIM process, both through desktop products as well as through the cloud.

    He explained that; construction industry challenges of rising project complexity, globalization of construction, skills shortage, have been seamless with Autodesk solutions and how cloud-enabled technologies present an opportunity for disruption in the designs to finish projects.

    “Digitizing the construction process and connecting teams with a common data environment improves collaboration and decision making. Building information modeling (BIM) provides a solid foundation, and enables greater efficiency and productivity. Any construction company looking to drive business margins, resilience and growth must innovate, must embrace innovation,” he said.

    Arc. Ibeanu went further to share success stories attained from the utilization of Building Information Modelling (BIM).

    The event further explored the relevance of augmented and virtual reality, generative design, AI/Machine learning, smart cities, factory of the future, and climate change solutions, in the future of construction and infrastructure.

    The Autodesk experts said they would help Nigeria to digitalise  construction process and project management, building a unified construction data platform to provide accurate information at the point of decision-making and drive better decisions and more profitable project outcomes.