The China Shandong is organising an Expo in Lagos to encourage Nigerian farmers, enterprises and assist Chinese enterprises to export high quality Nigerian local produce.The Tide source reports that the Expo, tagged “2022 Electromechanical Exports Commodities Nigeria Expo “, opened on Wednesday and ended today at Lanmark Centre, Lagos. The Expo was sponsored by the Department of Commerce of Shandong Province.The Promotion Officer, Shandong Brightway International Exhibition Company Ltd., Mr Rider Han, said this in a statement he signed and made available to Nigerians in Lagos.He said the produce targeted were sesame, cashew nuts, cottonseeds and shells among others. He encouraged Chinese and African enterprises to trade through barter mode, and actively establish a “green channel” for the export of high-quality products with African characteristics for coordinatedY development. According to him, the exhibits from Chinese enterprises included mechanical and electrical machines, building materials, hardware tools, vehicle auto parts, household appliances and goods, food industry and equipment.Others are plastic industry and products, security and fire protection, chemical products and equipment, oil and natural gas equipment, water industry, beauty products, textiles and clothing, health equipment, sports goods and medical equipment. He said the Expo was a way of responding to the current complicated and challenging international trade situation.According to him, it is to create a new mechanism, new model and new platform for China-Africa cooperation and meet the needs of African industrial development. “Since 2007, the expo has adhered to the combination of economy and trade, while it continues to promote both import and export,” he said.Han said many guests from the Consulate General of China in Lagos, the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, other units and media were expected to visit and have warm exchanges with exhibitors during the expo. He said in 2021, facing the global severe epidemic situation with innovative idea, the expo adopted the mode of the combination of offline expo, on-site professional services and online instant negotiation, and successfully built a communication channel between Chinese and foreign enterprises. “This expo is a bridge for China-Nigeria trade cooperation. At the expo, you will see all kinds of high-quality Chinese goods, from industrial machinery to daily necessities.“Over 150 manufacturers from China will be exhibiting at this year’s expo alongside government institutions/agencies in Nigeria”, Han said. GRICULTUREAgric Ministry Constructs 1.21MW Power ProjectsPublished 4 days ago on December 30, 2022By The Tide Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) says it has installed 20,124 units of solar electrification facilities with a combined capacity of 1.21 megawatts. It also constructed 105 classrooms, amd 15 public toilets. FMARD, the arm of the Federal Government responsible for the development of agriculture in Nigeria, said it constructed the projects in various rural areas across the country between 2015 and 2022.Disclosing this in a document obtained by The Tide’s source from the Ministry in Abuja, FMARD It disclosed this in a document obtained by our correspondent from the ministry in Abuja, FMARD also revealed that it constructed rural roads during the period under review.This, it noted, is a task that is majorly undertaken by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.The document stated that the facilities were delivered under the Capital Appropriation, Constituency and intervention funds. It read in part, “From 2016 to 2022, under Capital Appropriation, Constituency and intervention funds for the implementation of the rural infrastructure projects, the department constructed 1,583.2km rural roads.“The department provided and installed 1,530 units solar powered/motorised boreholes and water treatment plants, provided and installed 20,124 units (1.207MW) solar electrification facilities, constructed 22 rural farm markets, 105 classrooms, 15 public toilets and 10 green houses”. According to data in the document, out of the total demand for rural roads construction during the period, the FMARD was able to meet 29.4 per cent, leaving a deficit of 70.6 per cent.The average per year was put at 23.24 per cent, while the deficit was 76.76 per cent. It stated that out of the estimated 132,000km of rural roads, representing 68 per cent of Nigeria’s total road network, only 10 per cent had been developed for effective transportation, leaving rural to depend mostly on walking or trekking as a means of transportation. “This form of transport limits their access to markets, value addition facilities, social amenities and increases the level of poverty among them,” the FMARD stated.FMARD continued that, “The poor rural roads network induces the high cost of transportation; reduces ability to access high-quality inputs; limits the use of local markets for sales of their produce as well as the purchase of consumer goods and opportunities for off-farm employment. “Poor road access has, nevertheless, put constraints for the rural poor in terms of access to other social infrastructures such as education and health facilities.”It stated that rural access roads played a crucial role in promoting economic, social and cultural development, as improvement in road connectivity would encourage the production of perishable agricultural produce. To clear concerns on why the agric ministry got involved in power, works and water projects, which should be handled by the Federal Ministries of Power, Works and Water Resources, the FMARD explained that the delivered facilities were not outside the mandate of its rural development department.It said the department was envisioned to accelerate the transformation of the nation’s rural life and landscape through the provision of basic infrastructure on a sustainable basis. CONTINUE READINGAGRICULTUREFG, IOFS Meet To Address Food Security IssuesPublished 4 days ago on December 30, 2022By The TideFederal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), in collaboration with the Islamic Organistion for Food Security (IOFS), converged in Abuja to address the global issue of food security and agricultural development in the world, particularly among member states. Speaking during the Workshop held in Abuja recently, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mustapha Baba Shehuri, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, said the Workshop on Strategic Planning and Policy Development in Food Security will provide opportunity for dialogue and discourse on achieving a strategic food reserve system, increase production, mobilise resources as well as Food and Nutrition Security among members. The Minister said Nigeria had been selected by the IOC to serve as hub for food grain storage for its member countries. He noted that Nigeria had largely demonstrated firm belief in the principles and objectives that established the Organization through the implementation of several initiatives in line with the IOFS Action Plan, as conceived during the 40th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Conakry, Republic of Guinea, in 2013. Shehuri stated that the Islamic Organization for Food Security was a specialized institution of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (IOC), an Inter-Governmental Organization that was established in 1964, and Nigeria became a member in 1986 as well as member of Agriculture Working Group in 2017. The Minister revealed that the IOFS had not deviated from the core principle to provide expertise and technical know-how to Member States on aspects of sustainable agriculture and Rural Development in addressing current issues threatening food security in the world, particularly in the Africa region. He emphasized that the country was open to direct investments in the Agriculture Sector to leverage on the gains achieved through diversification policy of President Muhammadu Buhari led Government. He, therefore charged participants to proffer solutions to the current food security challenges at the end of the workshop. In his remarks, the Director General, Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS), Yerlan Baidulet said that the objective of the workshop was to build the capacity of government officials on basics and practices of strategy development, legislation improvement, creation of government inter- sectorial mechanisms on food security.