Former Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, is the Special Guest of Honour at the 12thedition of the All Nigeria Editors’ Conference (ANEC) which starts today in Port Harcourt.
Delegates arrived yesterday, 3 July. Venue is Hotel Presidential, Aba Road,in the city.
Theme of this years’s conference is Economic Diversification: Agriculture as Option for a Prosperous Nigeria.
Apart form Uduaghan, Chief Segun Osoba, former Ogun State governor, who will deliver the opening address; Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Information Minister who will deliver a keynote address; and others are already on ground.
Uduaghan was chosen to play the role of Special Guest of Honour because of his place in the nation’s history as the Governor who made agriculture and non-oil resources as alternative to dependency on crude oil receipts a state policy through the ‘Delta Beyond Oil’ initiative.
Uduaghan deployed the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) scheme to empower farmers in the state from the field through the value chain leading to the export of home-gown and processed spices among other products.
This year’s edition has been tailored primarily to focus on agriculture as a counterfoil to the dwindling receipts from crude oil. Speakers include a rich mix of practising farmers, agriculture financiers and policy-makers.
The Founder of HoneySuckle PTL Ventures, Mosunmola Cynthia Umoru, would speak on Agriculture as Panacea for Unemployment while Mr. Kola Adeniji of Niji Farms would talk on Agriculture as a Foreign Exchange Earner. The Chief Executive of Bank of Agriculture, Professor Danbala Danju would be explaining the Role of Banks in Agriculture Financing while Kano-based farmer, Muhammad Abubakar, the Managing Director of L&Z Integrated Farms would experientially explore the topic: Making the Most of Agriculture Value Chain.
The Acting President of the Guild, Funke Egbemode, said “the sole emphasis on agriculture for this year’s conference was in response to the falling price of crude oil at the international market which has automatically reduced government’s earnings and revenue base.
This is the first the conference is focusing on agriculture in the most pragmatic sense and it is meant to draw the nation’s attention to the limitless opportunities that abound in agriculture”.
(The News)
