The Italian Government has disclosed plans to invest in the Nigerian agricultural sector. This was revealed by the Trade Commissioner of the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), Alessandro Gerbino at an event in Abuja.
Gerbino explained that Italy’s interest to invest in Nigeria’s agricultural sector is part of its effort to strengthen trade relations with Nigeria.
He also said that it was because Italy is already known for the way it transforms raw materials that the agency plans to channel into producing high-quality products for the sector.
According to the Commissioner, Nigeria has many raw materials that could be processed with the technologies and machinery that Italy would bring as partners.
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Gerbino’s words: “Italy is famous for being able to certify a perfect combination of technology that goes from the source to the consumer at the highest performance. Italy is a country that made its fortune on its ability to transform raw materials.
“Italy does not have its own raw materials but is one of the big economies in the world. We have achieved and transformed raw materials that we sourced because we develop the technology and also sell the technology abroad to our competitors in some areas.
“Nigeria has raw materials and wants to diversify its economy, and the thing that comes to my mind is that Italy has high performing machinery to produce high-quality products.
”The products that can be used or exported to rich markets overseas,’’ he said, as reported by NAN.
Why this matters: Unlike Nigeria, Italy is known for not having raw materials but instead known for having technologies or machines to process, package and store these goods into being fit and attractive enough to sell massively when exported. The partnership would therefore be a boost to not only Nigeria’s agricultural sector but also the Italian Trade Agency.
What you should know: The Italian Trade Agency (ITA) is the governmental agency that supports the business development of the nation’s companies abroad and promotes the attraction of foreign investments in Italy.