The Lagos government has released N250 million to implement its five-year Coconut Value Chain Upgrade Strategy.

Abisola Olusanya, the agriculture commissioner, confirmed the funds’ release at a stakeholders’ meeting on Thursday in Lagos for harnessing the economic potential of coconut water and its utilisation as industrial raw materials.

The five-year strategy will improve the state’s economic, social and environmental sustainability performance of the coconut value chain.

The N250 million was the first tranche of the four million dollars estimated for the strategy.

The workshop was organised by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Lagos State Coconut Development Authority (LASCODA), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Small and Medium Scale Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).

She said the strategy was proposed using the Agri-Food Systems Transformation Accelerator (ASTA) of the United Nations with N4 million for the five-year plan.

According to her, In 2021, the Lagos government requested the technical support of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations through the FAO Unilateral Trust Fund on Coconut Value Chain Analysis and Development of an upgrading strategy for the Coconut sector of Lagos.

Ms Olusanya stated, “To make the support technically feasible and cost-effective and ensure an optimised return on government investment, FAO proposed implementation of an initial inception phase for six months to carry out the Coconut Value Chain Analysis (VCA).

“The analysis to design an effective action plan that will identify the necessary public and private investments, technical assistance, and policy implication for sustainable value chain development. The Lagos state government co-financed the initial phase of the project with $150,000 and jointly implemented by the FAO and UNIDO.”

Ms Olusanya noted that the report of the initial phase was duly submitted, and a five-year Coconut Value Chain Upgrade Strategy was proposed using the Agri-Food Systems Transformation Accelerator (ASTA) of the United Nations with the sum of N4 million.

“I am happy to inform you that Mr Governor has graciously approved the release of the funds for the first year of the project,” she added.

The commissioner said the workshop aimed to create awareness and promote one of the economic and health relevance of the coconut value chain.

She said the theme also serves as another timely wake-up to return to the basics and rekindle the values of coconut water and its plethora of allied products.

“Nigeria ranks 19th among over 92 coconut-producing countries of the world, of which Lagos State, known for excellence, contributes about 70 per cent of the national production of coconut and its products,” stated Ms Olusanya. “The recent study on the value chain by FAO shows that 90 per cent of the imported nuts from West African countries pass through Lagos State to other states of the federation.”

(NAN)