Baker Magunda, managing director of Guinness Nigeria plc, has said his company supports over 30,000 smallholder farmers to enable them move from basic to more efficient and productive yields.
In a recent interview with BusinessDay, Magunda said his firm has a team that works with a wide range of partners to provide technical services, farming knowledge, financing, insurance, processing and harvesting support for the farmers.
The farmers supply major inputs such as sorghum to the brewer.
“The team helps them to get high yielding seeds and to have confidence in financial matters so that when they get money, they can make better choices,” he said.
“In our view, it is a contribution that is beyond buying seedlings. We assure them of the market for their produce. As you are aware, African farmers have issues with a reliable market. Therefore, being able to assure them of the market gives them confidence,” he explained.
He said the policy direction of the Central Bank of Nigeria is going the right way, and the company supports it.
“The governor is saying, ‘Lend more money to the sectors where there are real economic activities and where there is value to be created.’ The real economy is in the informal and small-scale sector—the man converting hides and skins into shoes or cotton into fabrics. That is where the money should be lent,” he noted.
“When those people cannot access money, it becomes a problem. We like the policy direction of the CBN and we are waiting to see how that comes through the commercial banks.”
He further said that infrastructure is critical to export, economic development and competitiveness of the manufacturing sector.
“The infrastructure problems need to be dealt with to make us competitive. The help we need from government is to speed up incentives for exporters,” he further said.
Odinaka Anudu
