Hope rises for food security in Nigeria as firms form partnership

Published 15 Apr,2021 via The Nation - A food and agro-processing firm, WACOT Ltd, and an agritech firm Syngenta Crop Protection have formed a partnership to boost Nigeria’s food security and sustainable development of the agriculture sector.

The deal will see Syngenta working closely with WACOT over the next five years to help improve the sustainability, quality and safety of Nigeria’s agriculture with world-class science and innovative crop solutions.

Although Nigeria’s agriculture sector is the country’s highest employer of labour, accounting for 70 per cent, it has suffered low output resulting in poor returns for farmers and massive food import.

The partnership, which operates in all 36 states and supports production of crops including rice, maize, sorghum, soybean, cotton and vegetables, will therefore help further Nigeria’s drive towards attaining self-sufficiency in food.

The firms willl collaborate with farmers and others to sustainably improve the most important factor in agriculture – yield.

This will take the form of WACOT supporting farmers on cost-effective agronomic practices, advanced crop protection methods through the usage of yield enhancement products and biological compounds to consolidate the growth of the agriculture sector in the country.

Commenting on the partnership, Mr Ramesh Moorchikal, the CEO of the agri division of TGI Group, WACOT’s parent company expressed desired for Nigeria to attain self-sufficiency in crop production and would encourage further strategic partnerships to achieve this goal.

Moorchikal said: “We are most pleased with this partnership that would further help us achieve our dream for Nigeria – food security and self-sufficiency. Nigerian farmers are hardworking, and we know that if we can make them aware of better crop production practices and make results of our research and development efforts available to them, things will improve, and the agri sector as a whole would benefit”.

Also speaking, Syngenta Crop Protection West Africa Head, Franck Tokore said the company was proud of its relationship with WACOT and would continue supporting Nigerian farmers.

He said: “We are delighted to be renewing our partnership with WACOT. Through this partnership, we provide quality solutions to farmers in Nigeria and help support food security and livelihoods in Africa’s most populous country. By supporting farmers in Nigeria to sustainably increase their yields, we are also helping them be more competitive globally, hence reducing the need for imports. Nigeria has huge potential, which we strive to unlock sustainably through this partnership”.

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