From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Export Trading Group (ETG) has promised to assist Nigerian farmers with hybrid seeds and good agronomic practice, in order to boost productivity and profitability.
ETG Chief Executive Officer, Ashish Lakhotia, at a press briefing yesterday in Abuja, said farmers’ challenge of accessibility of farm inputs is solved in order for them to have good seeds for high yields and profitability.
Lakhotia said has been working with various governments in Sub- Saharan Africa to educate farmers on the policy formulations, private sector organizations to educate farmers on the best agricultural practices, and working with extension officers on best agricultural practices.
He said: “For agri inputs, but more importantly, to create a sense of urgency to go for the best practices so that the yield goes up significantly.
“We believe that Nigeria is the largest importer and distributor of agri inputs in Sub-Saharan Africa and we want to continue on that track to work together.
“One of the challenges that farmers face is accessibility to farm inputs, and for us, the important thing is to go to the last point so that the accessibility problem is solved.
“We are looking for an enabling environment and to create an affordable input programme, which farmers really see beneficial to them, these are some of the things that we do together for building a sustainable agriculture in Sub Saharan Africa.”
Also, ETG Global Head of Agrochem and Seed Business, ETG, Dubai, Iyad Takrouri, said, they are partnering with the farmers to help them bring the best out of the produce in order so that they can take the maximum production.
“The farmer must succeed in order for us to succeed. So we are a commercial entity and we are here as an investor but we have to make sure that we are providing the best solutions for the farmers and that they are getting the best outcome for them because it’s a continuous business.
“They need to invest in herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and to use the best seed. So at ETG, we are providing the farmers with the best seed quality, the best and the latest insecticides, fungicides and other crop protection that are helping them to combat pests that are attacking the crop and also getting the highest deals and the best quality seeds on time.
“We are here to stay and we are committed to Nigeria, and we know that Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa and the highest populated country. So we are here to stay.
“We want to be here for hundreds of years as long as we can. So this is why we have to make sure that the farmers are succeeding and in order for us to prosper and to grow, we are here to provide the best solutions and we want the farmers to profit to succeed and to prosper because this is the future for us and for our industry and for the people in Nigeria and across the world,”  he said.
The Business Development Manager, ETG, Nigeria Fertilizer, Ogu Goodluck added: “One of the key things I know is that as a Nigerian, the best you can do for the economy apart from the fact that your are doing business is to ensure that we have a sustainable, investment of people coming into the country and that will bring what would address the various challenges we are facing in the country.”