Nigeria is targeting $150 billion in extra earnings from non-oil exports as part of the country’s Zero Oil Plan (ZOP) and agriculture will play a big part in meeting that goal.
At the inaugural meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) Committee on Export Promotion held in Abuja recently, the Executive Director of Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Olusegun Awolowo, said the target can be achieved by increasing domestic production for export to all parts of the world.
Awolowo said the ZOP will also ensure increase in productive and export activities that will earn Nigeria 500,000 additional jobs annually.
The chairman of the committee, who is also the Governor of Jigawa State, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, said the country would concentrate on agricultural exports in order to achieve the zero oil export target.
Badaru said the committee is saddled with the responsibility of exploring viable means of producing and exporting several agricultural produce to other countries that will boost the country’s economy.
“We will be targeting crops like sesame seeds, cocoa, cashew nuts, shear nuts and hides and skins, vegetables and other agricultural products which Nigeria has comparative advantage in producing,” he added.
Source: naija247news.com
