NEPC trains 1,700 farmers, stakeholders on best practices for export in Plateau

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) says it has trained no fewer than 1,700 farmers and stakeholders in Plateau on global best practices in agriculture and other related fields to boost the non-oil export sector .

Mr Samson Idowu, Regional Coordinator of NEPC, stated this at last quarter meeting of the State Committee on Export Promotion (SCEP) on Friday in Jos.

Idowu noted that the training of the farmers and other stakeholders was part of the Council’s achievements in 2022, geared towards boosting the non-oil export sector of the state.

The SCEP meeting, which had participants from various sectors of the economy was organised by the Plateau Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Collaboration with NEPC.

“This meeting is necessitated by the need to further strategise and discuss the way forward to ensure optimal performance in the efforts towards boosting the non-oil export sector in the state.

“In 2022, 1,754 participants from Plateau have been trained through 14 capacity building on global best practices, good agricultural practices, cultivation of potatoes, rice, soya beans, shea butter, strawberry among others.

“They were also trained towards  ensuring global competitiveness on solid mineral as well as how youths can harness the potentials in non-oil export,” he said.

Idowu said the state office of the Council had embarked on exports awareness and publicity using the mass media during the period under review.

He said that the awareness programmes, which began on various media platforms in Plateau in September would continue to run for another 13 weeks.

“The office has also created an Export Resource Centre at the office premises on Langtang Strees Jos, for the use by  stakeholders at no cost.

“The public can now have access to intelligences, trend analysis, procedures, pricing, market information among others” he said.

The regional coordinator said that in its bid to promote export in the state, the Council had sought the support of the State Government to promote Federal Government’s “Export for Survival” campaign.

He said that the council want the  governor to make export a key policy of government and fully support non-oil export in the state.

“Our key objective is to make the state an export hub and we need the support of the state to make it a reality.

“The realisation of Export for Survival campaign should also be treated with urgency in the state” he said.

In her remarks, Mrs Nanlop Gopiya, Permanent Secretary, Plateau  Ministry of Commerce and Industry, thanked NEPC for its commitment to the state through the several outreaches and interventions during the year.

She called on the the people of  Plateau to take responsibility of government interventions, adding that they should be more committed to the development they seek.

“Government can only do so much, but there must be ownership and commitment on the part of the citizens and the receivers of the development being handed down to them.

“I want to urge the Plateau people to take advantage of opportunities such as those being provided by NEPC to be better for it.

Gopiya appealed to government for  strict monitoring of the interventions in order to ensure effective delivery  for equity and to avoid mismanagement of resources.

“Let there be some form of follow up, in as much as government will release funds, they should be checkmating what is happening to the funds to ascertain whether it reached the people targeted.

“Government should ensure that there is step-by-step adherence to projects and it should be done in collaboration with staff of the relevant sectors to ensure effective delivery,”  she said.