WACOT Limited said it has supported the 2021 International Sesame Seed Conference, held in Kano from 29th to 30th July. The conference, themed, ‘Developing the Sesame Seed Value Chain for Sustainable Economic Growth’ was organised by the National Sesame Seed Association of Nigeria (NSSAN) in collaboration with the Kano State Government. TGI Group, parent company of WACOT Limited, was Gold Sponsor of the conference where stakeholders charted a new course for the production of more high-quality sesame and harnessing its huge potentials for farmers and the government.
Commenting on the company’s involvement, Corporate Affairs Director, TGI Group, Sadiq Kassim said that, as a leading producer of sesame, TGI was committed to its cultivation. In the last half a decade, sesame has progressively assumed the role of Nigeria’s leading export commodity. Nigeria has also taken the position of being Africa’s leading producer and the sixth in the world. He explained: “Sesame can generate substantial foreign exchange for Nigeria and also improve the livelihood of cultivators because of the high demand for the variety grown in Nigeria in the international market. Given our recent certification by global organic certification organisation, ECOCERT, to export to Europe and North America, we feel the least we can do is to continue supporting production through this conference”.
Early this year, France-based ECOCERT, which conducts inspections in over 80 countries, issued two certificates to TGI Group, which has sizeable investments in value chains of various crops across Nigeria. The first certificate conveys the organisation’s approval to WACOT Limited to export sesame across the world while the second certificate grants approval for the exportation of sesame to the United States, having met the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic regulations, 7CFR Part 205. WACOT Limited, a major player in Nigeria’s agricultural production and value-chain sector, produces raw cashew nut, beans, soybean, sesame, dry ginger, cocoa, cotton, cottonseed, rice, maize, sorghum, fertiliser and agrochemicals. Tropical General Investments (TGI) Group is a global conglomerate with majority of its investments based in emerging markets. TGI’s investments focus on driving inclusivity and value addition using locally sourced raw materials, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and a highly skilled workforce to produce world class products that are consumed both locally and exported to global markets.
