Leadership (Abuja)
30 December 2008
The efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria towards the development of the nation's cotton sector received a boost recently, as the National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN), got a lifeline of N33 million to enable the sector bounce back to life.The Federal Government had also at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), pressed for cotton to be treated with priority, as separate from other negotiations under agriculture, for easy market access and fair trade.
The former supervising Minister of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong, who mad this known, further said that the Geneva-based Audit Control Expert (ACE) provided the fund through the ministry's Commodities and Products Inspectorate Department, to enable the association take advantage of the ministry's sponsored programme on cotton quality improvement.Hong while speaking at the Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, during the commissioning ceremony of the Premier Cotton Fibre Machine, added that the cost of the machine bought by the ministry of Commerce and Industry, was estimated at N45 million, including installation, equipping the laboratory, generator and complete renovation.
He stressed: "We have ventured and continued to support a private sector-based association in cotton, the National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN), to provide the necessary partnership with government in the cotton trade department."To this effect, a soft loan of N33.0 million was once extended to the association to enable it take advantage of the ministry's sponsored programme on cotton quality improvement provided by the Geneva-based Audit Control Expert (ACE)".He also revealed that the ministry had linked NACOTAN to the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) and the EU - ACP arrangement, stating that all these efforts were made via the ministry's Commodities and Products Inspectorate Department.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Leadership. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
