Experts highlight challenges facing Agricultural Value Chain

In this report, experts identified challenges Agricultural Value Chain in Nigeria and proffer solutions

CEO of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) and Subsidiaries, Adesola Adeduntan says the objective of the Bank’s Agric Expo is to support the goal of the Federal Government of Nigeria to make Agriculture a mainstream in the country. To discuss this, he joins CNBC Africa’s Christy Cole for more.

The Federal Government of Nigeria needs to bring back the Directorate of Foods, Roads and Rural Infrastructure programme (DFRRI), as a means to revamp the country’s agricultural sector. This is according to Akinola Olotu, Senior Special Adviser on Agric and Agribusiness to Nigeria’s Ondo State Government. On the sidelines of First Bank of Nigeria’s 2019 Agric Expo, he joins CNBC Africa’s Christy Cole for more.

President of Nigeria's Manufacturers Association (MAN), Mansur Ahmed says year-long engagements with key stakeholders, government across levels, Afreximbank and an extensive study of the AfCFTA's impact on its operations have assured manufacturers in Nigeria that opportunities presented by the trade agreement outweigh its risks. On the side-lines of the AGM of the Manufacturer's Association on Nigeria, he joins CNBC Africa's Christy Cole for more.

Ahmed Lawan speaks on Nigeria's agricultural sector

Great attention is required to increase the quantity and quality of Cocoa production in Nigeria. It is estimated that over 4.5 million tonnes of cocoa beans is consumed annually with the prospect of the figure increasing

Nigeria’s agricultural sector grew by 2.28 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter of the year. Meanwhile, in its Monetary Policy Communiqué, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says gross credit to the Agric sector stood at N73.2 billion between the end of May and the end of October this year owing to the bank’s new loan-to-deposit ratio policy. Emmanuel Ijewere, Chairman of Best Foods Farms joins CNBC Africa for this conversation.

Last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued a directive to restrict FX access for the importation of milk and its derivatives to six companies. So how does this decision impact local players in Nigeria's dairy value chain? Muhammad Abubakar, President of Commercial Dairy Ranchers Association of Nigeria joins CNBC Africa for more.

Nigeria to spend $1.2b on agricultural mechanization

We take a look ongoing protests in India against PM Narendra Modi's controversial agricultural reform plans. For some editorialists, the now two-week-long protests should force the Indian government into rethinking future changes. We also look at the pornography company Pornhub's response to criticisms it profits from exploitation. Finally, we discuss a possible solution to online misunderstandings.

On a regular day, Parminder Kaur toils in the fields and tends to cattle but now she is making her presence count as one among an army of women who have taken up the cudgels against the Indian government's agricultural reforms. Kaur, 40, is joined by tens of thousands of protesting male farmers who have set up tents and parked their tractor trolleys to block several kilometres of key highways leading into capital New Delhi for over a month.

In India, thousands of farmers have been camping out on New Delhi's borders for almost three months in what's been called the world's largest protest. The government says its new farming laws are essential to modernise the country's agriculture sector. But farmers, both young and old, say they won't bring their protests to an end until the legislation is repealed. They believe the new laws will end up hurting small farmers, who form 80 percent of the sector. Our correspondents Diya Gupta and Thomas Denis report from New Delhi.