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SMEs, Base For Agricultural Tramsformation - Minister From Cletus Akwaya in Abuja Minister of Agriculture, Alhaji Adamu Bello, has said the strength of the country's agricultural sector lay in the development of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises(SMEs). Bello spoke yesterady in Abuja while receiving a joint delegation of the Federal Ministry of Industry and the Central Organising Committee for the forth coming 16th international conference on Small and Medium Scale Enterprises(ICSME) slated next month in Abuja, which called on him. The delegation was made up of the Permanent Secreatry in the Ministry, Engr. Gideon Asiegbu, who stood in for the Minister of Industry, Ambassador Magaji Abdullahi, Deputy Director, SMES in the Ministry, Mr.Olu Olayinka, Mrs Gloria Kunaiyi-John, Executive Vice President International Multisectoral Economic Develoment Organisation (IMEDO) a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which is organising the trade fair component of the conference among other members of the central organising committee drawn from the organised private sector . " I want to assure you that the development of SMEs cannot but be based on agriculture which is contributing 60 per cent of our GDP annually and the only way to add value to agriculture is through the SMEs. About 70 per cent of our population is involved in agriculture. It is the goal of the Obasanjo administration that we reduce the per centage so that by the end of the life of this administration, others can be involved in processing and that can only be possible through the SMEs," Bello said. The Minister recalled that he had during a visit to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan on Thursday, with President Olusegun Obasanjo discovered that 80 per cent of the protypes of machines for agro-based SMEs were yet to be commercially utilised noting that the forth coming trade fair would afford the oportunity for IITA and other research institutes under the ministry's supervision to showcase their services, research products and inventions. "I welcome the invitation to participate in the international conference of SMEs and the trade fair, our participation is going to be for the benefit of these enterprises so all our parastatals will participate actively," he assured. Who Are We ? | About THISDAYOnLine.com | THISDAY People | Contact Us © Copyright 2000 Leaders & Company Limited

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