The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, officially inaugurated the Agribusiness Incubation Centre at the Federal University Lokoja during the institution’s 6th and 7th convocation ceremonies on Saturday.
In his speech, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe emphasised the government’s dedication to sustaining and enhancing the current growth in the agricultural sector.
He stressed the importance of creating an enabling environment to support farmers, entrepreneurs, and investors across the entire agricultural value chain.
The government is actively working to promote both local and foreign partnerships to boost trade and investment in agriculture as a key strategy for diversifying the country’s economy.
The newly established Incubation Centre is designed to serve as a Special Centre of Excellence that focuses on promoting food security in Nigeria.
It also aims to empower youth and women, create employment opportunities, foster wealth creation, and reduce poverty by developing viable agribusiness and entrepreneurship skills in various agricultural value chains nationwide.
Dr Umakhihe outlined the centre’s key focus areas, including enhancing production capacity, value addition, quality control, standards, and facilitating access to local and international markets for agricultural products.
The project is intended to attract investments into the agricultural sector, ensuring the survival and sustainability of agribusinesses while increasing domestic food production and exports.
The Agribusiness Incubation Centre will serve as a practical knowledge hub where individuals can acquire practical skills, processes, and inputs related to specific commodities.
It is expected to produce a new generation of successful farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs capable of adapting to new technologies and innovations across various stages of commodity production, processing, storage, and marketing.
The centre is equipped to provide comprehensive training programmes focusing on commodity value chains and business startups.
It will also facilitate access to bank loans, funds, and guarantee programmes. Additionally, it will support market research, linkages to strategic partners, access to investors, and the development of business plans and networking opportunities.
Dr. Umakhihe expressed his hope that the Agribusiness Incubation Centre will serve as an innovative and practical approach to support and promote the growth of agribusiness, trade, and investment, not only in Kogi State but throughout Nigeria.
He encouraged the university’s management to raise awareness and engage in advocacy to encourage youth, women, and other beneficiaries in the university’s catchment area and beyond to take full advantage of this valuable project.
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