Nigeria’s Import Dependency Limit $100bn Agric Revenue, Says TUC
The President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Festus Osifo, has revealed that untapped agricultural potentials have deprived the country of an annual revenue of $100bn.
Osifo highlighted the country’s reliance on agricultural food imports as a factor driving underdevelopment in the sector.
According to him, channeling loans toward agricultural development and reducing taxation on imported farming equipment would spur growth in the sector.
He said, “When there is synergy, I mean, we must sit down first to have an agricultural development plan for the next ten years.
“If we have such a plan for agriculture alone, and we determine how to go into large-scale production in Nigeria, I could tell you that in agriculture alone, we could generate over $100bn per annum in the next three, four, five years.
“We have no business in importing any commodity from abroad.”
Speaking on Channels TV’s Politics Today, the labour leader also cited exchange rate volatility as a key driver of high petroleum prices.
Osifo, who is also the President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), noted that exchange rate volatility constitutes a major factor since most oil and gas transactions occur in dollars.
This, he said, directly impacts the cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
“The exchange rate directly impacts the cost of PMS. If the government had managed the exchange rate effectively last year, keeping it around N1,000 per dollar, the current hikes could have been avoided,” he explained.
Speaking further, he stressed the need for the federal government to improve the manufacturing sector, adding that investment thrives in a lucrative economic environment.
He said, “We must create an environment where manufacturers thrive. Investors won’t come unless those already on the ground feel supported.”
Nigeria’s Import Dependency Limit $100bn Agric Revenue, Says TUC is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
