Nigeria celebrates world coconut day

Nigeria yesterday joined the nations of the world to celebrate coconut day for year 2022 towards a better future and life.

The event which took place at the conference room, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), Abuja was meant to create more awareness of the economic importance of the crop for higher production, processing and value addition for local consumption, and to checkmate import bills for job creations.

The Federal Government (FG) being represented by the Director, commodity and export department, FMITI Mr. S.A  Audu reiterated the readiness of Government to give maximum support that would enlarge the scope of coconut productivity with friendly environment, and capacity building through trainings and giving market exposition to private stakeholders to exploit potential in coconut and all other agricultural commodities towards job and wealth creation in the country.

He promised that the ministry would be ever ready to give National Coconut Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NACOPPMAN) support in capacity building that would result to higher production and healthy competition among producing states to galvanize productivity. 

The director assured NACOPPMAN that the ministry would be ready to support in the actualization of the production competition among states as a way of encouragement,  adding that Nigerians must obey the instructions of President Mohammadu Buhari asking us to eat what we produce to checkmate import bills.

The President, NACOPPMAN, Amb. Okoroji, Nma Okechukwu who was  full of appreciation to FG and all its affiliated agencies in their drive support for coconut productivity said Nigeria has the potential to be more productive in almost all the states of the federation through accelerated production of one family planting three coconut trees. 

Okoroji said the multiplier effect of such planting would positively be impactful in our production index among the comity of nations, adding that the encouragement of such planting will checkmate our import bill of $219,446.53 and $293,214.22 in 2019 and 18 respectively.

The NACOPPMAN president stressed that aggressive implementation of families coconut planting should be seriously galvanized to enhance productivity index of the country, saying that " the extablishment of one family-three-coconut- trees program and ten thousand hectares of coconut plantations in each of the federation's states. The  estimated economic contribution to GDP over a ten year period is predicted to increase exponentially if this is accomplished"

She advocated for the inclusion of coconut in the Central Bank of Nigeria' s anchor borrower program for the actualization of fast productivity to checkmate import bills, just as improved seeds with other processing machineries are needed to assist farmers and processors.