Investments in the wheat value chain in Nigeria’s Food and agricultural sectors has generated about 10.5 million jobs which have put the unit in the centre of the various economic development agenda of the country.
Foods such as bread, semolina, noodles and pasta are derived from wheat and they form a huge percentage of the nation’s staple foods.
The value chain consists of those involved from the smallholder wheat farmers to the research institutes, flour millers, production, processing, distribution, warehousing and retailing levels of the end products like pasta and bread.
L-R: Datti Danjuma, General Manager, Human Resources, Crown Flour Mill; Rauda Musa Umar, Wheat Development Programme Officer, Crown Flour Mill; Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige; Moshood Quadri, Head, Human Resources, Crown Flour Mill; Damilola Adeniyi, Corporate Affairs Manager, Olam Nigeria, when the company met with the Labour and Employment Minister in Abuja
Crown Flour Mill Limited (CFM), a subsidiary of Olam Nigeria, weekend re-eoed its promise to continue to collaborate with other stakeholders within the local wheat value chain in sustaining the socio-economic value proposition of the sector.
Ashish Pande, Managing Director of Crown Flour Mill (CFM) gave the assurance during a meeting with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, in Abuja.
Pande, who was represented by Damilola Adeniyi, Corporate Affairs Manager, Olam Nigeria who led a delegation of the CFM, explained that the rising consumption of wheat derivative foods in the country have stimulated further job opportunities at the production, processing, distribution, warehousing and retailing levels of the wheat value chain.
“Presently, the wheat value chain accounts for over 10.5 million jobs generated annually in Nigeria. This of course has made the flour millers and others involved to continue to take bold developmental steps through scaled investments in critical areas including seed trial and research, training of smallholder wheat farmers and funding of the various farming research institutes in the country to ensure that the current local production level of the wheat crop improves significantly”.
These efforts have ensured affordable and quality food for the growing Nigerian population and also helped to increase the number of jobs being created for the active segment of the population. Overall, he noted that the investment efforts, which extend to capacity building initiatives for bakers, are beginning to yield positive results.”
The importance of the wheat value chain is buttressed by the stability in the prices of wheat derivative foods which were largely cushioned from the inflationary trend by local millers and bakers who continuously absorb the extra cost of production to keep feeding the population. Other major national staple foods such as rice, garri, yam and beans have not such support as their prices have risen sharply by 3.2 percent, 6 percent, 5.3 percent, and 13.4 percent, respectively, in the past months and helping in pushing up the consumer price index (CPI).
The CFM boss solicited the backing of the Minister of Labour and Employment to ensure that millers continue to deliver on their employment generating potential.
“If the current wheat value chain developmental drive is sustained, it would help secure the jobs of many Nigerians while ensuring that more homes continue to gain access to affordable quality wheat derivative foods such as semolina, bread, noodles and pasta.”
Labour and Employment minister Ngige assured the sector of the ministry’s commitment to supporting efforts that are geared towards providing good jobs for Nigerians and ultimately growing the economy.
Ngige expressed delight over the extensive investments that the Olam group has made and continues to make in Food & Agricultural value chain stating that “The level of investment presently being channelled into developing the value chain is of paramount importance to help reduce the level of unemployment and underemployment in the economy.”
According to Ngige, “Sustaining and scaling the current level of developmental projects in the value chain is key to keeping Nigerians gainfully employed and well-nourished. At the Ministry of Labour and Employment, we will continue to support your drive as a critical partner in achieving national economic prosperity through expanded local production that can deliver more employment opportunities for the teeming Nigerian population.”
Recent government data revealed that in the fourth quarter of 2020, 33.3 per cent of the Nigerian labour force was unemployed and this is expected to increase even further in 2021 and 2022 owing to the Covid pandemic and other various socioeconomic disruptions that have continued to pile pressure on businesses and jobs.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its World Economic Outlook update released in April, revised upward, its growth forecast for the Nigerian economy in 2021 to 2.5 percent from its earlier projection of 1.5 per cent it announced in January. The new growth projection is 1.0 percent higher than the multilateral institution’s 2021 forecast in January. January’s forecast was a downward review from the forecast it shared in October 2020.
There is fear, the projection may not be realisable owing to the increasing spate of banditry, kidnapping and herdsmen activities that have affected every aspect of the nation’s life and keeping farmers away from their farms.
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