Cooperative societies can boost nation’s economy through non-oil export, says Awolowo

Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has sensitised cooperative societies and other groups in Kwara State to embrace non-oil export promotion to boost the Nigerian economy.

Executive Director of NEPC, Mr Olusegun Awolowo, in a keynote address at a stakeholders’ forum on “Developing the Nigeria Agricultural Value Chain for Export through Effective Cooperative Society Formation and Management” in Ilorin, Kwara State, said that dependence on oil to boost the economy was no longer viable.

Awolowo, represented by the Regional Coordinator, North-Central, Mr. Samson Oluwole Monehin, said that cooperative society is a veritable tool in propagating and increasing export trade.

“An endeavour which may be difficult to achieve by an individual is easily dispensed by a group of individuals in the spirit of cooperative society. Cooperative society, therefore, plays an increasingly important role worldwide in poverty reduction, facilitating job creation, access to credit, economic growth and social development,” he said.

Awolowo affirmed that the commission, in recognition of the role of cooperative societies in non-oil export promotion, would accept besides a limited liability company registration, the cooperative society registration for the issuance of exporter’s certificate which is qualification export in Nigeria.

He said the Federal Government preferred to disburse loan under cooperative/cluster arrangement than individuals, which can be seen from the success of the Anchor Borrowers Scheme of the Central Bank of Nigeria in especially Zamfara, Kebbi, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Plateau, Adamawa, Niger, Sokoto, Ebonyi, Cross River and Lagos states.

“Cooperative society provides the platform for which individuals with no strong financial standing could become valuable players in wealth creation activities in the nation.

“Smallholder farmers have the opportunity to aggregate their strength to benefit from economies of scale and significantly contribute to the nation’s economic development through their activities in areas of production, processing, manufacturing, marketing, among others,” he said.

Awolowo assured Kwara State of continued collaboration to develop the non-oil export in the state.