The Nigeria Export Promotion Council(NEPC) has advised Ekiti government to mobilize for mass production and rebranding of its non-oil products for export as a contemporary way of enhancing foreign revenue.
NEPC said statistics revealed that Ilawe Ekiti axis of the state markets over three million bunches of banana yearly, in addition to yam production in Ilasa Ekiti axis, two business strategies that could take the world market by storm if properly utilized.
The council gave the advice on Tuesday during a business summit at Ikogosi Resort Centre, in Ekiti West Local Government Area of the state.
The summit, organized by E-11, was tagged: ‘Harnessing Agribusiness and Export opportunities in Ekiti for Wealth Creation”.
Representing the council, a Trade Officer, Mr Rotimi Babadipe, stated that NEPC has started encouraging proper packaging of banana and yam products in Ekiti to export status, while also enjoining the state to tap into benefits inherent in cashew, cocoa, and palm oil production for huge foreign investment gains.
“Ekiti has one the best brands of yam and banana in the world but we are trying to encourage export of the products by teaching traders on best preservation and packaging techniques that can attract value at the world market.
“We are not limiting this to yam and banana alone, we are teaching farmers about best fermentation techniques that can produce quality seeds to stop the degrading of cocoa product at the world market.
“NEPC conducted a research on banana and we realised over three million bunches of banana are traded annually in Ilawe Ekiti alone. This is exportable and has brought the idea of conditioning and preservation of some of these for export. We are presently researching into how to encourage mass production of cotton in Ekiti to put the state on the world export radar,” he stated.
An official of the Bank of Industry (BOI), Mr Raymond Tochukwu, said the financial institution is ready to give loans to interested people to help the growth of small and medium scale enterprises in the state.
According to him, “BOI has been helping genuine entrepreneurs in processing of agriculture products by providing funds. We don’t engage in buying and selling of products but we can give funds for you to buy processing plants.
“In our bank, we can support you with as much as N10m for micro business while macro business structure can get above that depending on the size and with little interest rate that is incomparable to what you can get in commercial banks.”
Speaking about the vision of the summit , the chairman of E-11, Mr Kola Akosile, said it was intended to create awareness and rejuvenate businessmen’s interest in export opportunities that abound in Ekiti.
“We brought a Canada-based Ekiti man, Mr Femi Boyede, to give lecture on how to change and reorientate our youths to engage in farming because of the huge benefits. It is also for them to know that farming is the answer to unemployment and the declining economic fortunes of our country.”