Investors to tap into agricultural potential of 20 million consumers

The theme of the sixth edition of the Lagos State Economic Summit (Ehingbeti) 2012, “From BRICS to BRINCS: Lagos Holds the Key,” aptly captures the aspiration of Nigeria to join the league of the super-emerging BRICS economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), which will now change the acronym to BRINCS (including Nigeria).
Lagos – the nation’s economic capital with vast potentials and investment opportunities – will play a central role in driving this vision, according to most emerging market analysts and economists.
With a population of over 20 million, Lagos is one giant market place with vast untapped opportunities in the four key sectors the 2012 edition of Ehingbeti will focus on; Power, Agriculture, Transportation and Housing (PATH).
Already contributing 20 percent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Lagos’ agricultural potential, on both the demand and supply side, are huge.
Last year alone, it consumed approximately 7.5 million tonnes of livestock. Of the total agricultural produce consumed in Lagos, the state produced 34 percent of the food crops, 24 percent of the livestock, and 31 percent of fish.
Approximately 22 percent of the Lagos Island mass is water, which speaks volumes for investment opportunity in aquaculture and fisheries.
The arable land is suitable for the cultivation of a wide range of crops, including rice and coconut.
It is within this context and the place of Lagos as Nigeria’s economic capital that this edition of the Summit will examine the economic potentials of Lagos for investors, both in terms of agricultural production and consumption.
The state governments vision for Lagos is to make it “Africa’s model megacity and global and financial hub that is safe secure and productive”. From the year 2000, the Lagos States Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget has successfully organised the annual State Economic Summits in collaboration with other stakeholders.
Whilst the first summit was organised in partnership with the Business Club Ikeja, the subsequent Summits have been organised under the aegis of the Lagos Economic Summit Group. The outcome (Reports) of these summits, have become critical policy inputs in the State Annual Budget, with the resultant conclusion yielding fruitful dividends for the state.