Declare CTG Sector National Asset, NACOTAN Tells FG

James Emejo

The President, National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN), Mr. Anibe Achimugu has urged the federal government to declare the Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) sector as a national asset.

This, he said, had become inevitable given that the country is projected to hit the 400-million population mark by 2050.

He said for a sector, which contributes over $8 billion in annual turnover, and accounting for over 10 per cent of corporate income tax, the CTG remained critical for economic sustainability and growth.

Achimugu, in an exclusive chat with THISDAY, also said the federal government’s intervention in the sector through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Anchor Borrowers Prgoramme (ABP) had been a watershed in current efforts aimed towards repositioning the sector.

Specifically, he said the apex bank’s intervention has increased the participation of local and foreign investors, leading to the expansion and emergence of new ginneries, textile mills and garment factories.

According to him, through the ABP, the number of registered farmers had increased to over 200,000 from 67,000 while the number of participating states also increased to 33 covering the country’s six geo-political zones.

Further highlighting the positive outcomes of the CBN intervention in the sector, the NACOTAN president said seed cotton production had averaged 150,000 metric tons (MT) from 80,000 MT as well as the availability of better planting seeds, and the reactivation of ginning companies which rose to 23 as well as seven textile companies among others.

He said the sector has the capacity to drive the industrial revolution in the country as evidenced in some advanced economies.

He added that CTG sector could drive massive job and wealth creation thereby addressing Nigeria’s socio-economic challenges.

Achimugu said, “The CTG sector will address the huge textile import bill thereby saving significant foreign exchange and stopping Nigeria from being a dumping ground, especially for second-hand clothing.

“The CTG sector will generate huge foreign exchange earnings for Nigeria and generated upwards of 600,000 jobs, being second to the federal government in employment.”

He added that the sector could “generate significant jobs and wealth, and provide the answer to the current unemployment crisis”.

He, however, pointed out that the provision of good quality planting seeds and the need tto enforce rules and regulations remained key challenges in the sector.

According to him, the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) needed significant support to be able to produce large quantities of breeder and foundation seeds.

He said massive land clearing was needed not only to boost the cultivatable hectare for cotton but for various agricultural produce in the country.

He said, “Access to affordable power that will help reduce costs drastically and make Nigeria cotton products competitive is key. There is a need to further strengthen the repositioning efforts by establishing and enforcing rules and regulations. This will bring the much-needed sanity to the sector.”