Agric commodity Associations condemn character assassination

*Hails Tinubu's Forex policy

 * Counts achievement 

 The leadership, Federation of Commodity Associations of Nigeria ( FACAN) have asked the members of the public to disregard few individuals going about parading themselves as the new leaders just as they hailed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu exchange policy on agricultural economy. 

 The chairman, FACAN Board of Trustees ( BOT), Dr. Victor Iyama said this last Thursday at the press briefing held in Abuja where many commodity Associations' presidents and other key executive officers were present to lend their support against what they described as mischaracterization and attempts to tarnish the image of the Association by some yet to be officially unarguarated members. 

Dr. Iyama posited that such group should have been patient to allow their associations officially pass through all the necessary inductions by FACAN and Federal Government (FG) through the trade ministry, adding that many of them are not yet financial members neither have they been officially launched to become a full fledged FACAN members.

 Iyama stressed that the group's interest did not conform with FACAN's mandate as Non Governmental Organization (NGO) that is apolitical, and focuses solely on advancing members' interest with support to government policies that would enhance growth in the sector.

Responding to questions on money paid to the Association by FG, Dr. Iyama said that the money they were talking about is a borrowed money, and is verifiable as approval to the payment had since been given by the immediate past Permanent Secretary, adding only half of the amount has been paid remaining the rest.

 The BOT chairman added that most of the workers in the organization that are being owed for many years were paid out of the money while the rest are spent on local and international training that have impacted positively on our agricultural practices. 

On the issue of election, he said it has been electronically conducted only by financial members immediately after COVID 19 in 2021, and there would be no other till 2025.

 In his response to Food Farm News through telephone conversation on the questions whether their associations are officially launched to be a full member of FACAN and if they had a constitutional right to lobby member for ministerial post as a NGO, the spokesman of the group in question, Mr. Austin Maduka said that as long as a commodity Association has its file with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment ( FMITI), then it is qualified to be FACAN member adding he knew nothing about lobbying for any minister. Maduka said that "

 According to the ministry's constitution, so far your file is in the ministry, you are now a part of FACAN and you can make decisions" On whether it is constitutional for an NGO to dabble into lobbying members for a ministerial position, Maduka said it was a lie from the pit of hell, saying he has never tried to influence anyone to be minister of Agriculture.

 But in a text he later sent after our telephone conversation on lobbying for minister, Maduka stated " Yes, under National Agricultural Commodities Project not FACAN" Meanwhile, Dr. Iyama has commended the action taken by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu against the foreign exchange policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) that had only succeeded in making our agricultural produce being exported through the back doors as exporters do not easily have access to official exchange rate as they are buying a dollar at N730, and sell back at N430.

 Iyama praised President Tinubu for his foresighteness in this direction which he believed would soon positively impact the economy in a very shortest time. Speaking on the achievement recorded in the past years as FACAN, he said that the apex body had been able to move the numbers of registered commodity associations forward from eleven (11) to 77 with 49 already launched officially with a blue print of $100b revenue generation just from 27 commodities coupled a plan to end 40% food wastages in the country. 

He pointed out that the relentless activities of the organization's members have ensured food availability within and other West African countries despite the insurgency confronting our country. FACAN he said has earned Nigeria several dollars and can still generate $100b from 27 commodities if taken seriously with its blueprints. 

According to him "we started with about 11 commodities, but today we have grown it to about 49 that are already launched out of 77. We have trained so many young ones and encouraged them into farming, commodities' trading and small scale processing as we have been able to cement relationships among the different groups in different associations because part of our mandate is to unify groups with disputes" "One of the major achievements is in trying to raise the needed dollars for our beloved country, and that is why in the recent past years we have a blueprint of 27 agricultural commodities that can be exported out of this country and that can fetch hundreds of billions of dollars. 

We made a presentation which shows that 27 commodities alone can bring in hundred billion dollars annually depending on how you want to look at it, and the commodities cut across crops, animal husbandry, fisheries and horticulture" Iyama said.

He added that plans are also ongoing to ensure that the 40% wastages usually witnessed during food production are curbed as we have started to build a sophisticated preservative ware house through a Russian partnership that was attracted by some of our members who travelled there saying "Unfortunately when they came there was an outbreak of Covid-19 which held them back here that we could not do much, but we are still on it because one of the major ways to solve food problem and to ensure food security is to stem wastages" On youths involvement he pointed that the bringing in of them into the sector is not what can be underestimated, saying that young graduates are now going into farming in the farm settlement areas as a result of training and constructive advice given to them in view of white collar jobs and motor bikes popularly called "okada ride", stressed they can make sufficient money through farming to the tune of four, and three millions naira which cannot be made driving okada.