Vice President Osinbajo Persuades Russian Farmers to Invest in Local Production

The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday, invited Russian farmers to invest in Nigeria, produce and export to Europe to earn foreign exchange.

The Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has called on Russian farmers to invest in producing and exporting agricultural produce in the country to earn foreign exchange. Osinbajo implored Russian agric investors during the visit by the Russian delegation led by Mr Alexander Tkachev, the Russian Minister of Agriculture, at the state house in Abuja, that the availability of arable land in Nigeria made the case for improved local agricultural production highly imperative.
According to Osinbajo, “We are just six hours away from Europe by air. Vegetables and Flour can be exported to Europe from here”.
The Vice President asserted that the availability of arable land in Nigeria has made the case for increase in agricultural productivity a realistic and profitable option.

Osinbajo noted that although foreign exchange was a major constraint,  it was more reasonable to produce locally, rather than continue to import, with its significant pressure on dwindling foreign earnings of the country.

“Oil prices have gone down tremendously and yet large amount of foreign exchange is used to purchase food abroad and we have large arable land for agriculture. It won’t make sense if we don’t use the land”, he stated.

Speaking further, Osinbajo highlighted the financial benefits to be accrued if Russian technology is deployed locally, adding that there are better opportunities for economic co-operation between both countries which should not be left untapped.
Both the vice president and the delegation agreed that Nigeria and Russia should deepen the existing diplomatic relations, especially economically, would be mutually beneficial to both countries.

Earlier, the Russian agriculture minister had expressed his country’s willingness to enhance the existing trade relations with Nigeria.
 

Tkachev, who is also the Co-Chair of the Nigeria-Russia Joint Commission, observed that Nigeria-Russia trade volume as at the end of 2015 exceeded 300 million dollars, adding, however, that there were potential for improvement in the years ahead.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the delegation included the Russian Ambassador in Nigeria, Amb. Nikolay Udovichenko, Russian Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mr Evgeny Gromyko and officials of Russian firm United Company (Rusal).