Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mrs Ibukun Odusote, said that the plans to rebuild the groundnut pyramid included establishing Groundnut Value Chain (GVC), with the objective of increasing production, processing and marketing of groundnut.
Mrs Odusote disclosed this at the opening ceremony of a two-day National Stakeholders Workshop on Promoting the Development of Groundnut Production, Processing and Export in Nigeria, held at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Kano.
She said that the project implementation for GVC activities commenced in 2013, and the interaction with stakeholders from both the public and private sectors to synergise and come up with appropriate template and road map for the development of an effective and economically viable groundnut sub-sector was ongoing.
Odusote, who was represented by the State Director of Agriculture, Bauchi State, Mr Mohammed Yusuf, noted that small, medium and large scale farmers, processors and marketers were showing interest in investing in groundnut production and processing.
She added that to create demand for the anticipated large output of groundnut from these interest groups, efforts were being made to train operators of small groundnut processing mills/machines to enhance their capacity.
She revealed that two processing machines had been given to about 20 women who participated in the training, which they were expected to pay in instalments.
She further disclosed that the Federal Government was about to conclude an agreement with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) for the purpose of promoting the groundnut seed production and processing.
http://www.tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/news/item/18937-fg-set-to-rebuild-groundnut-pyramid.html
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