Sesame seed stakeholders ask CBN for special program

Stakeholders at the international conference on sesame seeds have demanded from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) a special programme on the value chains of the produce, being among the leading crops in terms of export earning in Nigeria of lately.

This was among the resolutions in the communiqué issued at the just concluded first-ever international conference on sesame seed held recently in Kano and made available to Food Farm News.

Stakeholders led by the National President of the Sesame Seed Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Sherrif Balogun in the communiqué commended the role of CBN in the promotion of agricultural productivity to checkmate food importation and also urged the apex bank to quickly put in place a special programme that would attend to all the value chains of the products being the highest non-oil foreign exchange earner for the past few years in the country.

This special intervention by the CBN according to the stakeholders in the communiqué will enable the sesame seed association to achieve its one million metric tons target production within the next two years, just as the Kano state Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje who declared the conference opened said his government is committed to ensuring the promotion of the product as Kano was the largest market of it in Nigeria.

The full text of the resolutions in the communiqué is published below  

1. Traditional method of exporting raw/unprocessed commodities should henceforth be deemphasized. Value addition for commodities meant for export should be advocated and encouraged for improved quality and market value and to keep in tune with international trade standards.

2. There is a diversity of uses for sesame and this feature should be exploited by developing the appropriate product to suit the end-user.

3. For Nigeria to tap into the huge sesame global market, there is a need for the public sector to engage in massive sesame production and processing; as well as creating an organized market structure for the value chain leveraging on prevailing government policies like the current Anchor Borrowers Program of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

4. The conference acknowledged the role of the Central Bank of Nigeria in promoting agricultural production and has therefore urged the Central Bank of Nigeria to put in place a special program for sesame seed value chain that will encompass production all the way to export. This is noting that the sesame seed is the highest non-oil foreign exchange earner for the past few years for Nigeria and to also ensure the National Sesame Seed Association of Nigeria meets its target for 1 million metric tons production within the next 2 years.

5. A gradual stepping up to higher levels of the processing could increase the benefits derived from sesame. This may include the hulling of sesame, which is not currently practiced but is easy to establish.

6. The provision of mechanized tools such as planters, harvesters, and tractors also provides another method of profiting from the sesame seed value chain in Nigeria. This will also enhance the profits for the farmers as fewer crops would be lost along the way.

7. There should be an increase in private sector participation from production, processing, and marketing chains. This will further boost the revenue and foreign exchange that can be obtained from the production and export of this commodity.

8. There is a need for the formulation of a comprehensive policy roadmap for the development of Nigeria's sesame seed sector.

9. There should be an establishment of more new processing plants by private and public sectors. This is necessary to improve the quality of sesame seeds processed in Nigeria, it will increase the better price as the processed outputs meet international standards.

10. Nigeria needs to develop new, high-yielding, and disease-resistant seed varieties which have a better yield per hectare as farmers are struggling with less yielding seeds.

11. Government should create policies that would encourage seed promotion and the private sector should provide more investment in seed production.

12. There is an established demand for sesame from Nigeria and this must be built upon. Despite the poor reputation of Nigerian exports, sesame is accepted in the market and Nigeria is a known source of supply.