The proposed food fair will be part of the second edition of the Agribusiness Roundtable Conference slated to hold in the state between December 11-13,2022
The South-South coordinator of the programme, Mr Howard Usen, stated this on Monday while speaking at a media briefing to highlight activities of the conference with the theme ‘Thriving in a Dwindling Economy’.
Usen said Afang soup is vastly eaten everywhere across the globe, adding that there is the need to showcase this area that the state is known for with the intention of exporting it
He said, “Another component of the second edition of Agribusiness Roundtable Conference is the mini food fair. Anywhere you go people always say ‘Calabar Kitchen’. So we are trying to organise a mini food fair that will showcase the rich delicacies that Akwa Ibom State is known for. Go to anywhere in the world, people are eating Afang soup, we are trying to say how can we showcase this area that Akwa Ibom is known for towards exporting it.”
He said that the theme of the conference is unique considering the depressed economy occasioned by the Russia-Ukraine war.
Usen, who noted that the Russia-Ukraine war which preceded the COVID-19 pandemic that affected every country, said there was need for organisations and individuals to chart a way forward and develop new mindsets on how to survive and move forward.
He disclosed that besides the conference, plans had also been concluded to launch the centre for Innovative and Sustainable Agriculture which would serve as a business hub for the South-South and South-East region.
He said that the centre would be to the region what International Institute of Tropical Agriculture is to the South-West.
He said, “We also have a launching of the Centre for Innovative and Sustainable Agriculture. We found out that in the whole of South-South and South-East there is no such organisation.
“The centre will utilise untapped potentials of agriculture in the area where Nigeria South-South region and environs have comparative advantage such as sea food, vegetables, palm oil and cassava whose processing for local consumption and export will generate substantial revenue.”
“A fully established centre for innovative and sustainable agriculture would be the leading seat of innovative solutions in value addition to locally produced goods and indeed serve as a major hub in the South-East and South-South regions.”
