TheCable

The federal government has secured a $1 billion investment for special agro-industrial processing zones in 24 states of Nigeria.

This was disclosed in a statement on Friday by Stanley Nkwocha, senior special assistant on media and communications to President Bola Tinubu. 

African Development Bank (AfDB), Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) raised the fund.

The fund is coming two years after the first phase of an initial $520 million voted by the development partners to develop eight special agro-industrial processing zones in Nigeria. 

Nkwocha said Akinwumi Adesina, president of AfDB Group, disclosed the new investment at the Norman Borlaug international dialogue, held at the World Food Prize 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa, United States.

Adesina said the decision to invest heavily in Nigeria’s agribusiness was part of the resolve to develop special agro-industrial processing zones (SAPZs) in 13 countries. 

“We are investing heavily in the development of  SAPZs to support the development of agricultural value chains, food processing and value addition, enabling infrastructure and logistics to promote local, regional, and international trade in food,” he said. 

“The AfDB Group is investing $853 million in the development of the SAPZs, and it has mobilized additional co-financing of $661 million, for a total commitment of $1.5 billion. We are deploying effective partnerships at scale. We are currently implementing 25 SAPZs in 13 countries. 

“For example, the AfDB, Islamic Development Bank, and the IFAD provided $520 million for the development of 8 special agro-industrial processing zones in Nigeria. 

“The second phase of the program aims to mobilise an additional $1 billion to deliver special agro-industrial processing zones in 24 states of Nigeria.”

Adesina, who bemoans the state of agriculture in Africa, said not much progress had “been made in African agriculture, 283 million people still go to bed hungry in Africa, about a third of the 828 million people that suffer hunger globally”.

He, however, said that Africa has the political will and is fully ready to tackle food insecurity and make hunger history on the continent.

Also speaking about SAPZs at the event, Vice-President Kasim Shettima said the current administration is committed to providing an enabling environment for investors in the zones.

He said the government would create a SAPZ development authority that would operate like a one-stop shop where regulatory and associated issues would be addressed.