Author: Aishat Ibrahim

Anambra & UNIDO Sign Education Partnership Agreement [2017]

Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano has signed an Entrepreneurial Education trust fund agreement with the United Nations for Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

The partnership programme for the ‘Learning Initiative for Entrepreneurs’ Life Project’ is aimed at upgrading teachers, students in senior secondary schools, undergraduates, graduates, as well as those in technical and vocational institutions, toward creating small scale businesses and attaining financial freedom.

According to the governor, the initiative was at the heart of his administrative policy in human capital development, adding that it would reduce the challenges of youth restiveness in the state.

In his words:

“This UNIDO partnership with Anambra State government is at the heart of what this administration wants to do: to give lifelong skills to our youths that are in technical education and we have made it simpler because tuition is free and so we have gotten a very large enrollment and I’m comfortable that in less than two-three years, these youths will graduate and on their own they will start being very productive from day one instead of lying idle. That is one way to solve crime on a lasting and permanent basis. Today, Anambra is the safest state in Nigeria but we are planning to make sure we create an army of youths that are very gainfully employed. So by the time you employ 95 percent of youths, the stock where the criminals will come from would have diminished immensely.”

The Regional Director of UNIDO, Mr Jean Bakole who is also UNIDO representative to ECOWAS, lauded his efforts towards improving education in the state. He said that the project would consolidate a future of productivity and creativity for youths in the state, expressing hope that it would invariably uplift and stabilise Nigeria’s economic base, stressing that the initiative was a breakaway from traditional education to a new approach.

In his statements:

“We are with a new approach where youths and women can be creators. We are not here to use paste and copy, we are here to upgrade the skills of those people to be creators because this is the epicenter, this is the foundation of industry. Why are the other countries that rule the world moving ahead? When you see a country like Turkey, a country like Vietnam and Russia so squared, it is because those young people are trying to go beyond what they are learning. They are creators and we will like youths in Africa to do the same and in particular, when we come to Nigeria, this is one of the brilliant states, Anambra, which has contributed in terms of human capital to economic and to the leadership of the country.”

FAO Hands Over CAPI System To Federal Ministry Of Agriculture [2017]

In a bid to ensure Nigerians have easy access to more data on agriculture, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Nigeria has handed over the Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) system developed with the support of the Agricultural Market and Information System (AMIS) to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

FAO hands over CAPI System to help investors, agriculture merchants, traders and farmers for informed decisions and optimized activities and income. As part of the deliverables of AMIS, the CAPI System was developed in Nigeria for the collection of agricultural data. The CAPI System will be domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) for supervision and monitoring, following the handover ceremony to the Nigerian Ministry of Agriculture. It is also equipped with capacity to provide near real-time agriculture data, through crowd-sourced data from various players in the agriculture value chain. The platform has a web-based repository that will provide easy access to agricultural data producing agencies and other agricultural market stakeholders across Nigeria.

Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry Of Agriculture, Dr. Bukar Hassan in his words stated:

“The only way agricultural production can be sustained is when the farmers can be able to reach out to various markets to sell their products, ‎and make some returns   to enable them to invest; today’s event gives us a unique opportunity to move   away from traditional marketing system, monitor and evaluation system to a   more digital and sustainable method where we will be able to ensure that   whatever we have produced, figures we are going to have in terms of production is accurate, and therefore food security will be ensured.”

AMIS is an inter-agency platform housed in FAO. This particular project of AMIS is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. AMIS was initiated in 2011 by the Ministers of Agriculture of the G20 countries to improve food market transparency, coordination and monitor price volatility. AMIS participating countries include all G20 Members as well as Spain and seven additional major exporting and importing countries of the four agricultural commodities which AMIS covers (wheat, rice, maize and soybeans).

 

Cross River & Shaanxi Province Sign Trade Partnership Agreement [2017]

Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, has signed a trade partnership agreement with Shaanxi Province in China, Hu Heping, to bolster the injection of capital for business in the state.

cross river

The China-Africa Development Fund, CAD Fund, in May 2016, signed a cooperation agreement with the Shaanxi Government in the capital Xi’an, the first of its kind with a provincial-level partner that aims to boost more investment in the African market.

The Governor of Shaanxi Province, Hu Heping, at the occasion said the agreement had great significance for companies in Shaanxi, spurring them to go abroad and accelerate their steps into Africa. By the trade partnership agreement, he said the two sides will establish Shaanxi Africa Industry Development Fund, which will help local companies in financing, project selection and loans for their businesses in Africa. He added that the China Development Bank, together with CAD Fund, which has nine years of experience in Africa-related investment, will help companies in Shaanxi gain more information and financial aid in their business expansion in Africa. In his words:

“As a province with traditional heavy industry, including energy development and manufacturing, Shaanxi has a good number of companies which have an advantage in mining, oil exploration and large-scale equipment manufacturing. All those sectors are needed in Africa.”

The bank allocated $3.2 billion in the CAD Fund for more than 80 projects, from infrastructure to agriculture to energy resources in 35 African countries including Nigeria. By the end of 2016, the bank hit its target of pooling $5 billion to go into the fund, aiming at further diversifying financial vehicles that facilitate Chinese investment in Africa.

Shaanxi, is a part of the Northwest China region lies in central China, and covers an area of over 205,000 km2 (79,151 sq miles) with about 37 million people.