The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN), yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding on building a credible, robust and reliable database for the cotton industry in Nigeria.
President of NACOTAN, Anibe Achimugu and Statistician-general of the Federation, Dr Simon Harry, signed the MoU at the headquarters of NBS, in Abuja.
Under the agreement, NBS and NACOTAN will collaborate in building and warehousing the database which will ultimately drive a market-oriented cotton industry in Nigeria
The Statistician-general said the database expected to be developed, will cover all activities in the development, production, processing, marketing and utilisation of cotton across its value chains.
It will also stimulate the utilisation of cotton as raw material both for the textile industry, vegetable oil industry and other related industries in the country.
The database will serve as a veritable tool for interaction between NACOTAN national agencies, development partners and investors.
While NACOTAN will provide the baseline information on the sector, NBS will provide technical support and assist in conducting periodic Cotton Production Surveys in the country.
President of NACOTAN said the MoU ‘will go a long way to improve the way we live and the way we work’.
NACOTAN generates and disseminates data locally and internationally. Achimugu said operators in the Cotton-Textile-Garment (CTG) sector are looking to grow and compete better, with adequate and quality data. The CTG used to be the number two employer of labor in Nigeria, second to the public sector.
“The MoU will facilitate the rapid revival of the Cotton industry. It will benefit other sectors and Nigeria’s economy in general. With better data, we can make informed decisions, identify our strengths and weaknesses, strategize for the future and make sustainable policies,” Achimugu stated.
He said NACOTAN has enormous data coming in continuously. NBS are specialists in data collection and management. “This is a wonderful union for the development of the economy of this country,” Achimugu said.
