Study: SMEs Require Support to Improve Competitiveness for Local Production

A new study conducted by two development partners - Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) and Market Development Project in the Niger Delta (MADE) - has shown that for the ongoing successes being recorded in local agricultural production to continue, agricultural businesses would require targeted policies and support.

The organisations that conducted the research on the effects of the naira devaluation and the country’s trade policies on four key agricultural value chains, found that local agricultural products have become a lot more competitive than before.

The study, which was conducted within the Niger Delta region, considered cassava, palm oil, aquaculture and poultry products, and looked at the effects of both the naira devaluation and the trade restriction policies, especially on the importation of about 41 items.

Presenting the report of the research at an event in Lagos recently, the lead researcher, Dr. Ogho Okiti, explained that the research became necessary to inform stakeholders - including government, investors, development partners and even consumers - of the market realities and the positive and negative impacts of some policies on market performance.

According to Okiti, the issue of naira depreciation could be seen as a blessing in disguise, saying it had resulted in a fall in the value of people’s income and a decline in their preference for foreign products. But that, although the pricing of local goods has gone up, the proportion of the increase is not as high as that of the imported products. As a result, this has left some profit margin for the local producers.