The European Union has unveiled a digital platform to boost investment in Nigeria’s agribusiness sector.

Myriam Ferran, deputy director-general of the Directorate of International Partnerships (INTPA), European Commission, said this at the ninth edition of the Nigeria-EU Business Forum in Abuja.

Ms Ferran said the platform aimed to increase private investments in the country’s agribusiness sector. She explained that the initiative would contribute to the reduction of food insecurity and poverty as well as the attainment of sustainable economic development in Nigeria.

“The EU-Nigeria Agribusiness Platform will contribute to boosting the exploration and exploitation of agribusiness opportunities between Nigeria and the EU,” she explained. “This is through the establishment and maintenance of a network of active members of agribusinesses across Nigeria and the EU. An agribusiness platform is a form of a digital agricultural platform that provides digital marketing, trading or investment space for commercial and/or transactional activities.”

She added, “It also aids interactions, communications, integrations and cooperation in the agri-food system and agro-industry between Nigerian and European SMEs.”

According to Ferran, the EU-Nigeria Agribusiness Platform’s primary focus is to create linkages and interactions between Nigeria and EU agribusiness stakeholders, especially among SMEs.

She said it would also promote trade and investment between both sides.

Ms Ferran said, “The idea for an agribusiness platform stems from the commitments of the November 2020 EU-Nigeria Ministerial Dialogue. In consultation with the government of Nigeria, it was decided to launch an EU-Nigeria Agri-business Platform as a structured dialogue between Nigerian and EU farming and agri-food communities in agricultural and agro-industrial sectors. This is to promote trade and attract responsible investment and to foster business linkages, particularly for SMEs.”

Ms Ferran said Agribusiness Register Limited, a private sector entity conversant with the agribusiness ecosystem, would manage the EU-Nigeria Agribusiness Platform.

She said a consultative meeting of stakeholders birthed the idea of handing over the platform to a private sector-led entity working in partnership with public and private sector stakeholders.

She added that the firm would work with and engage with selected agribusinesses, farmer groups, aggregators and other critical stakeholders.

She said that it would also nurture partnerships and collaborations with EU implementing partners in the relevant space of agriculture, digital, and entrepreneurship with relevant agencies of the Nigerian government.

(NAN)