‘Why we create awareness on economic, industrial potentials of plantain’

Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, Director-General, Raw Materials Development Council (RMRDC), on Wednesday, harped on importance of creating awareness on the economic and industrial potentials of plantain as a raw material, urging Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to take advantage of the potentials in the value chain of the commodity in order to generate revenue and boost the nation’s food security.

The DG said that plantain (botanically known as Musa x paradiasiaca), if properly harnessed could earn a lot of foreign exchange and give a significant effect to the food security programme of President Bola Tinubu’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda.

He said, “Delta State is well endowed with agricultural raw materials, with plantain produced in significant quantities.”

He noted that plantain has been a veritable raw material and that RMRDC has over the years embarked on various innovative programmes and projects to actualise its mandates.

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He spoke in Asaba at a one-day investors’ forum on agro-processing with the theme, “Plantain Value Chain: A Hidden Potential for Economic Diversification/Wealth Creation”, organised by the Delta State Office of the council.

The DG, who was represented by Olubumi Olufemi, the Deputy Director, South South Coordinating Division of the Council, said the forum was designed to proffer solutions to the critical national question of food insecurity, unemployment, youth and women empowerment, raw materials value addition, industrial development, among others.

He noted that the growth and development of SMEs could help achieve more equitable distribution of income and investment opportunities which would invariably diversify the economy from over reliance on petroleum and create jobs, economic growth, end poverty and ensure prosperity for all.

He said that plantain has immense industrial potentials, just as it is in high demand due to its nutritional and food value importance.

“In 2022, Africa’s total plantain production was 30.08 million tonnes, out of which Nigeria produced 3.1 million tonnes, with most of the production consumed domestically with or without value addition”, he noted.

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The DG however observed that despite the high demand, production and processing of plantain, it remains at the rudimentary level, hence substantially reducing the revenue that ought to accrue from it.

Thus he called for the proper harnessing of the commodity to give a significant effect to the food security programme of the current administration in the country.

He revealed how the Council had also proposed an amendment to its Act for 30% value addition for all raw materials before export, which he said, would boost local processing, enhance local manufacturing, increase export value, ensure farmers gain maximum returns from their efforts, and generate more income for the Nigerian economy.

Shimite Love, Special Adviser to the Delta State Governor on Trade and Export (SPADTE) in her keynote address, pointed out the investment opportunities in the plantain value chain and called on SMEs in the State to leverage on them to create wealth and diversify the economy.