NIGERIA: AMBASSADOR HOSTS PPP AGRICULTURAL EVENT ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001112

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR ECON EFIN ETRD PGOV NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: AMBASSADOR HOSTS PPP AGRICULTURAL EVENT ON
CAPACITY BUILDING AND AGRO-FINANCING; OPENS AGOA RESOURCE CENTER


1. (U) SUMMARY: On June 9-10 in Lagos, the Ambassador hosted a
Public Private Partnership (PPP) agricultural event entitled
"Boosting the Nigerian Agricultural Sector through Financing,
Processing, Capacity Building, Capital Equipment and Market Access".
The PPP event covered the need to boost the Nigerian agricultural
sector, address financing challenges facing Nigerian importers,
processors, and buyers of capital equipment, and encouraged
increased Nigerian exports under the African Growth and Opportunity
Act (AGOA). The event included presentations by the U.S. Commercial
Service (USCS),Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID),U.S. Export Import Bank (EXIM),
U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA),Overseas Private Investment
Corporation (OPIC) and the USAID West Africa Trade Hub. This event,
attended by some 450 private and public sector representatives, was
a follow up to a nationwide energy conference last year in which
many of the same agencies participated. Both events also focused on
how to raise the profile and use of AGOA by Nigerian companies. In
addition to the importance of AGOA, and commissioning a new AGOA
Resource Center, the Ambassador also highlighted the USG Global Food
Security Program for Nigeria. End Summary.


2. (U) On June 9 and 10, the Ambassador hosted an agricultural event
on financing and capacity building in Lagos entitled, "Boosting the
Nigerian Agricultural Sector through Financing, Processing, Capacity
Building, Capital Equipment and Market Access." This was the second
in series of public-private partnership (PPP) efforts between the
U.S. Mission to Nigeria, the Bank of Industry, several Nigerian
banking partners, and USG agencies seeking to raise profile and use
of AGOA by Nigerian companies. The event concentrated on building
capacity in the Nigerian agricultural sector through practical
workshops addressing financing challenges, preparing products for
export to the U.S. and providing technical assistance for
agribusiness development. The event consisted of four modules:
--Financing mechanisms for bank representatives and those in
agribusiness or food processing intending to expand or develop, and
in need of capital equipment and technology from the U.S.;
--Food labeling for agricultural exports to the U.S.;
--Technical assistance for agricultural processing; and
--Scaling up on use of AGOA.

Financing and Investment
--------------


3. (U) In the financing module, OPIC, EXIM, USTDA, USCS and FAS
provided participants with tools on understanding agricultural
financing and how to plan for agricultural infrastructure
investment. Furthermore, they presented information how to
successfully acquire and finance capital equipment and technology
from the U.S. and how to access investment finance and insurance
products to help both U.S. and Nigerian companies build their
businesses.

Technical Assistance for Agricultural Processors
-------------- ---


4. (U) In this module, USAID concentrated on technical assistance
for agricultural processors for financing and developing the
agricultural value chain, including use of the Development Credit
Authority (DCA) through several partnering banks in Nigeria. DCA
allows USAID to issue partial loan guarantees to private sector
lenders, pledging to cover the lender's risk of borrower default up
to 50% of loan principal. This encourages financial institutions to
provide loans to new sector and borrowers, and reduces market entry
risks for lenders contemplating new products.

Food Labeling
--------------


5. (U) In a two-day food labeling workshop an expert FAS consultant
trained over 100 participants on U.S. standards, regulations and
requirements for labeling agricultural products for export to the
U.S. The session was interactive and beneficial, and participants
were hungry for information on how to better package and properly
label their products for entry into the U.S. market.

AGOA/Trade Hub
--------------


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6. (U) In this module, experts from USAID and its West Africa Trade
Hub led an interactive workshop on how agribusinesses can scale up
operations to take advantage of AGOA. Presenters used case studies
of Nigerian agribusinesses that had successfully used AGOA to export
to the U.S. They provided step-by-step instructions for how to
research the U.S. market, develop a solid business plan, access
capital, and begin exporting. They suggested all participants take
advantage of the U.S.- BOI AGOA Resource Center, which the
Ambassador and BOI Managing Director Evelyn Oputu commissioned on
June 9 as part of the agricultural event.

U.S.-BOI AGOA Resource Center
--------------


7. (U) For the past year, the Ambassador has been working very
closely with the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) and
BOI to relocate the AGOA Resource Center from a small desk at NACC
to a full-service, multi-room facility at BOI that is easily
accessible for the public. The Ambassador took advantage of the
agricultural event to commission the new Center alongside BOI MD
Oputu. Participants from the agricultural event, government
officials and several media representatives attended the
commissioning ceremony of the U.S.-BOI AGOA Resource Center, which
will be used by private sector companies who are interested in
accessing or further scaling up on AGOA.


8. (U) This message was coordinated with Consulate Lagos.

SANDERS