The Nigerian mushroom subsector can contribute N1.8tn trillion to the country’s revenue base if properly developed by the Federal Government.
The Chairman of the Mushroom Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, Michael Awunor, disclosed this at the inaugural summit of the association held on Tuesday in Abuja.
Awunor stated that as a non-oil resource, the mushroom sector could boost the country’s Gross Domestic Product and create an estimated 16 million jobs for Nigerian youths and women.
He explained that mushroom as an agricultural commodity stood out among its peers due to its nutritional and medicinal benefits.
He said, “Nigeria, undoubtedly has abundant non-oil resources waiting to be tapped It is in fact safe to declare that we can earn as much, if not more, from non-oil resources as much as oil
“This is where Mushroom offers so much hope to contribute significantly to the country’s GDP.
“The world mushroom market as at the end of 2020 stood at about $45.3bn and we are determined to earn 10 per cent of it.
“The 10 per cent earnings when analysed on the global mushroom market is estimated at about $4.53bn.”
If calculated on about N400 to a dollar official rate of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the $4.53bn translates into about N1.8tn.”
He therefore called on the FG and principal stakeholders in the agricultural sector to take more interest in the well-being of the non-oil sector to ensure that the goal of economic diversification is achieved.
Copyright PUNCH.
