The Senate has tasked relevant stakeholders in the capital market to strive hard to strengthen the commodities exchange toward actualising its full potential.

Osita Izunaso, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Market, spoke at a workshop for committee members, with the theme “On Infrastructure Financing Development of the Commodities Ecosystem through Commodities Exchanges” in Abuja on Sunday.

He said that the executive and legislature must work in harmony to strengthen the commodities exchange in accordance with global best practices.

Mr Izunaso said the workshop was to position the community exchange toward ensuring food security and enhancing foreign exchange earnings.

“We discover that people are talking about the money and capital markets. Nobody is dwelling on commodities. That is why we have to partner with the Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange to bring the story closer to home.

“We must ensure that all the export commodities in Nigeria pass through the commodity exchange to generate revenue for the country.

“Commodities exchanges are game-changers. They enable investment diversification, manage risk, ensure fair pricing and streamline transactions.

“To boost Nigeria’s competitiveness, we need a thriving commodities trading ecosystem,” he said.

He said the Lagos Commodities Exchange had recorded some major achievements lately.

“This demonstrates the sector’s potential. Commodities exchanges are a path to progress. There is a clear consensus,” he said.

The senator said that economic diversification was essential for Nigeria to overcome its challenges. He added that commodities exchanges could play a vital role in achieving the goals of job creation and economic growth.

He said that the Senate, through legislation, would ensure that there were adequate legal frameworks for commodity exchanges, warehouses and financing.

Also speaking, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sabi Abdullahi, said the ministry had been working to reverse food inflation and stem the food crisis.

He said Nigeria had about 73 million hectares of arable land, but only about 33 hectares were being cultivated.

“With this, our productivity is still low. I believe there is a lot to be done to raise the productivity of farmers,” Mr Abdullahi added.

He said that to increase productivity, irrigation capabilities needed to be improved through dry-season farming.

(NAN)