Mrs Zaheera Baba-Ari, the Managing Director, Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX) says the exchange is concluding discussions with the Bauchi State Government to help farmers dispose their yields through its trading floors.
According to a statement by Mr Chris Echikwu, Head, Corporate Communications and Strategy, on Friday in Abuja, Baba-Ari said this at a one-day capacity building workshop for commodity exchange stakeholders in Bauchi.
She also said that the proposed technical partnership being facilitated by the state government would avail domestic and international consumers access to millions of tons of major agro-commodities that were available in the state.
“NCX has since opened discussions aimed at creating a technical partnership with farmer groups and cooperatives in the state through the auspices of the state Ministry of Commerce and Industry to encourage farmers to dispose their yields through the exchange’s trading floors.
“Several meetings have been held in this regard and it is hoped that the proposed partnership would kick off in the coming harvest season.”
Baba-Ari said that Bauchi state holds a pride of place in the production of commercially viable agro-commodities such as sesame seed, shea nut, maize, sorghum, paddy rice, groundnut, coffee, cassava, yams, cotton and livestock, among others.
She said that was the reason the NCX established two delivery warehouses in the state located in Gada Maiwa and Gidan Gona.
“It is thus imperative for commodity traders and consumers in Bauchi state to patronize NCX trading floors in order to attract local and international agro-commodities trading business.
“The exchange is now equipped to give them the many benefits of an efficient and cost-effective commodity trading platform for the procurement of commercially viable volumes of high-quality commodities at the best prevailing market prices.”
She also said that there was a presidential mandate to selected government agencies to work towards ameliorating high food prices, adding that there may be commercial opportunities for investors in the ecosystem that they could take advantage of in the immediate, medium and long term.
According to her, international investors with interest in commodity export, trading, warehousing, collateral management, logistics and financing may wish to approach the exchange for business.
This, she said was due to envisaged boost in operations due to the recent presidential mandate.
On the workshop, she said that it was meant to enlighten actors in the commodity trade sector of the state on the various aspects of NCX commodity trading operations as well as the mechanisms of its trading infrastructure.
She added that the workshop had been held in several other states across the country while many more states would be covered eventually.
Mr Garba Dahiru, the Bauchi State Commissioner of Commerce and Industry, said that the workshop was timely and commendable, considering the government’s efforts toward diversifying the economy through agriculture.
He added that he hoped that after the workshop, the livelihoods of farmers in the state would improve as a result of the new techniques acquired for trading and warehousing of their produce.
He also commended the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement meant to boost trade among African nations.
According to him, it would ensure free movement of goods and remove barriers hindering trade on the continent.
(NAN)
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