Business
MOWCA, AFDB Identify Employment Creation Areas
The Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA) and African Development Bank (AfDB) have jointly identified areas of collaboration for maritime infrastructural development and employment creation.
This is a fallout of a meeting at the instance of the Secretary General of MOWCA, Dr Paul Adalikwu, with officials of the AfDB in Abidjan, recently, in which both bodies identified the need for collaboration.
Adalikwu, who was received by the AfDB team led by the bank’s Acting Director, Infrastructure and Urban Development Department, Mr. Mike Salawou, explained MOWCA’s importance and strategic positioning in harnessing the benefits of maritime transport development and the blue economy concept.
The SG invited AfDB to look at his action plan on repositioning MOWCA and provide assistance to implement the programmes of work.
He informed the bank of the planned establishment of a Regional Maritime Development Bank (RMDB) with headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, as an avenue to provide funding for African shipping industry to enable indigenous investors own ships and play active role in the maritime industry.
He stated further that nine member States have signed the bank’s Charter document with 51% equity share allotment to member States and 49% equity set aside for private sector investors, and encouraged the Bank to see this as an opportunity to invest in the RMDB.
The MOWCA SG disclosed plans to recruit officers to fill key positions at the Secretariat General, to encourage member states to replicate the existing anti-piracy laws of Nigeria and Togo for harmonisation of procedures and practices to prosecute criminals caught in the Gulf of Guinea.
He described the blue economy as an avenue for empowerment of women and youths through the ocean resources, thereby mitigating involvement in maritime crimes, Institutional maritime capacity building and engagement of more women in the sector.
He also talked about establishing an information network relying on high technology equipment to increase situational awareness at sea inorder to maximise the benefits from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) technical assistance programmes for member States.
The AfDB, through Salawou, promised to engage with MOWCA on the review of the study on the development of the maritime sector that aims at promoting intra-African cabotage transport to reduce identified gaps.
The bank assured of partnership on promoting port efficiency through improvement of connectivity with rail and road transport for facilitation of cargo transit to landlocked countries and assisting in overcoming the challenges in the sector through job openings for African maritime practitioners currently dominated by Asian seafarers.
The AfDB representative said that the Bank was developing its strategies to fully address maritime issues with the African Union Commission and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), based on their involvement in the regional coastal shipping line project, SEALINK, initiated by the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FEWACCI) and ECOWAS.
AfDB according to Salawou, is also considering the Port infrastructure development and city urbanisation in the Praia-Dakar link by sea.
The bank rep agreed with MOWCA on the need for job opportunities creation with the promotion of maritime-related entrepreneurship and training for women and youths.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has criticised Nigeria’s import ban on 25 categories of goods, claiming that the restrictions limit market access for American exporters.
This is the effect of President Donald Trump’s tariffs introduction on goods entering the United States, with Nigeria facing a 14 per cent duty.
The USTR highlighted the impact of Nigeria’s import ban on various sectors, particularly agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
The restrictions affect items such as beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and alcoholic beverages, which the United States sees as significant barriers to trade.
The agency argues that these limitations reduce export opportunities for United States businesses and lead to lost revenue.
“Nigeria’s import ban on 25 different product categories impacts United States exporters, particularly in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
“Restrictions on items like beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and spirits limit United States market access and reduce export opportunities.
“These policies create significant trade barriers that lead to lost revenue for United States businesses looking to expand in the Nigerian market”, the agency said .
In 2016, Nigeria implemented the ban on these 25 items as part of efforts to control imports and stimulate local production.
Some of the banned items include poultry, pork, refined vegetable oil, sugar, cocoa products, spaghetti, beer, and certain medicines.
On March 26, 2025, the Federal Government also announced plans to halt solar panel imports to encourage local manufacturing as part of its push for clean energy.
A leading agribusiness strategist and digital agriculture expert, Ayo Oluwa Okediji, has sought cooperative-driven investments in sustaining growth of poultry industry in Nigeria.
He said the poultry industry was at a defining moment and requires urgent structural reforms to secure its future and ensure long-term sustainability.
Speaking on the theme, “Strengthening Poultry Farming Through Cooperative Synergy and Strategic Investments”, at the recently concluded Oyo Mega Poultry Workshop 2025 in Ibadan, Okediji called on poultry farmers, cooperative leaders, financial institutions and policy makers to rethink the existing structure of the poultry sector.
He stressed the need to transition from fragmented, individually-driven operations to well-structured, cooperative-led enterprises capable of attracting sustainable financing and securing long-term viability.
He said, “Our poultry sector cannot thrive on individual effort alone. We need to organise ourselves into cooperative clusters, build strong governance systems and position ourselves to attract the level of investment needed to sustain this industry beyond this generation.”
Drawing on lessons from successful global cooperative models such as Rabobank in the Netherlands and Landus Cooperative in the United States, Okediji introduced the FarmClusters Poultry Model, a locally adapted solution developed by Agribusiness Dynamics Technology Limited (AgDyna), a subsidiary of AgroInfoTech Africa.
According to him, the model is currently being piloted in Oyo State in partnership with PANOY Agribusiness Limited and local poultry cooperatives.
The Rivers State Representative of the Nigeria Chambers of Commerce, Mines, Industries and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Erasmus Chukwundah, has urged palm oil farmers to consider hybrid seedlings for planting, if they must break even in palm oil business.
Chukwundah said this recently at the Free Oil Palm Business Climate Smart Best Management Practice/Assistance Training organized by Partnership Initiative In Niger Delta (PIND) for Palm Oil Farmers in Elele, Ikwerre Local Government Area.
The Rivers representative said until palm oil farmers begin to consider such hybrid oil palm seedlings, they may not meet up with the daily increasing demand of palm oil in the market.
According to him, the seedlings produce up to 30 bunches at once that ripen same time.
He said PIND decided to partner with Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria (OPGAN) to ensure that the message was received by the targeted audience.
According to him, palm oil remained a popular choice of industry operators as it could be converted to many other products such as vegetable cooking oil.
He also noted that products such as motor tyers, marine ropes and others are now gotten from the palm tree.
Chukwundah, who is the immediate past Director-General of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Mines, Industries, and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), further warned against use of unrecommended fertilisers in growing oil palms.
He noted that such practices could limit its export value or chances as the foreign marketers have a way of detecting such .
He reiterated the need for organic fertilizers, including poultry droppings, to enable them have a natural palm oil.
“People must reduce physical contact with palm oil production. That is why we are campaigning for hydrolic oil mills. The foreign markets are no longer interested in crude method of palm oil production”, he said.
Meanwhile, one of the farmers, Sonny Didia, who appreciated Chukwundah’s commitment towards the concern of farmers, appealed for an urgent need for loan opportunity with low interest rate in order to enable them beat the target.
King Onunwor