By Ahmed Rufa’i, Dutse
As part of the Jigawa government effort to supplement the federal government policy of promotion of non oil product exportation, the state has collaborated Comttraex Nigeria a private organization and established a fumigation chamber for hibiscus flower at the Maigatari Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Maigatari local government area of the state.
This was disclosed by the Director-General, Jigawa Investment Promotion Agency (InvestJigawa) Furera Isma Jumare at a one-day seminar titled “Value Addition for Export”, organized for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the state.
She said it is part of effort to promote non oil product expirtation.
The director general said the project which is under Public Private Partnerships (PPP) chamber is expected to commence operation in few weeks.
Hajiya Jumare explained that the gesture was aimed at boosting the exportation of the product, as well as addressing the issue of export rejection.
According to her “The collaboration, under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement, is also targeted at transforming the hibiscus value chain in the state, by making it a prominent hub for the production and processing of the commodity in Nigeria”.
The DG noted that the partnership will establish a fumigation chamber, modern cleaning and processing facility for hibiscus flowers, Sesame and trade under the brand name “ComttraJigawa”.
“This initiative is expected to unlock the industry’s full potentials, driving economic growth and creating opportunities for local farmers and sustainable development in the region to boost exportation of the product,” she said.
The DG further assured the state government will support in various ways that would ease the path to becoming not just a production state, but also a state dominant in processing of raw materials for exportation.
“And for this seminar themed “Value Addition for Export”, Our target is the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMES) sector. You may wonder why you, as MSMEs, first, there is no dispute that MSMEs form the bedrock of a country’s economy, especially here in Africa.
“And for us in InvestJigawa, we consider MSMEs as investors too, something I must stress here because of the general belief that when you say “investors”, you mean those large rice mills, sugar factories, fertiliser companies and the likes that you see along the road. It is not so.
“We see MSMEs as partners that should be supported to grow and thrive, which we believe would subsequently contribute to the economic prosperity of our state as espoused by our Governor’s 12-point agenda,” the DG said.
She stressed the need for MSMEs to ramp up the addition of value to the state raw materials, which will provide competitive advantage, noting that value addition will avail MSMEs the opportunity to get premium prices for their products, “I reiterate that our state is endowed with abundant resources and it is time we leverage these resources for their fullest potential.
It is worth telling, that in September this year, according to Nigeria Shippers Council’s report, 75% of exported farm produce in Nigeria is from North West zone.
“This underscores the pivotal role that our MSMEs can play in this space and their potential impact on the global market. I believe the presentations and discussions today will provide valuable insights and strategies for our MSMEs to enhance their production processes and elevate the quality of their goods and services,” Isma-Jumare said.
She therefore, urged the participants to network for future collaboration with the agency in its effort to bring about export of the state products not as raw materials, but as finished goods.
Competent resource persons from Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Nigerian Shippers Council, Dala Inland Dry Port, Nigeria Customs Service and Window of Turkey made presentations on export producers.
In their separate remarks, Mr Danalmadi Haladu, the Secretary of Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), in the state, Malam Nuhu Hussaini, the Chairman of Dutse Union of Marketers, commended the agency for the seminar and engaging resource persons to educate the participants.
Nuhu, called for more Sensitisation for the MSMEs in the area of exportation as he urged the agency to ensure that producers get good prices for their products.