Hope rises for cotton farmers as FG partners with ICAC to revamp sector.

From Cyril Mbah, Abuja.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari has expressed the readiness of the Federal Government to partner with the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) and other stakeholders to revive the country’s moribund cotton sub-sector to boost production, create jobs and export opportunities among others for Nigerian youths.

The minister stated this during a meeting with the Executive Director, ICAC, Mr. Eric Trachtenberg and other relevant stakeholders at the Ministry’s conference room, in Abuja at the weekend.

Sen. Abubakar Kyari revealed that the cotton ecosystem would create over 1.4 million jobs annually, which is in line with the industrialization policy of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

He added that the focus would be to develop key components of the cotton value chain comprising farming, weaving, ginning, and linking of cotton dealers with sources of production, among others.

The Minister expressed optimism that with ICAC technical expertise, the Cotton sub sector would be revived in Nigeria for sustainable economic growth and national development.

He stated that ‘’the challenges in the sector which discouraged farmers from engaging in cotton production and preferred other crops would be looked into and  addressed for optimum productivity in the cotton ecosystem.

In his remarks, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi stated that the agricultural sector is the biggest employer of labour in the country and expressed the commitment of the Federal Government to revive the cotton and textile sub sector.

The Executive Director, ICAC, Eric Trachtenberg, in his welcome address, stated that the organization would support Nigeria’s cotton value chain, help revamp it by offering expert advice aimed at improving productivity, boost the value chain and investment facilitation.

He outlined the possible areas of collaboration to include proper training of farmers, extension service workers, deployment of technologies, and innovative solutions, among others.