Lucy Ogalue
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved 200 million dollars as first tranche funding for Phase II of Nigeria’s Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) Programme.
The facility is the first part of a multi-tranche arrangement that will support 27 additional states, with the initial 200 million dollars covering activities in 10 states.
Phase II is designed to develop inclusive agricultural value chains through the establishment of 10 agro-industrial hubs, providing common food processing and related infrastructure to attract private investment.
The programme will also support youths and women through targeted training, vocational schemes, business development services and improved access to finance.
Under the plan, an agricultural infrastructure platform will be created to give local farmers, youth-led enterprises and micro, small and medium enterprises better access to markets, quality inputs and technical services.
AfDB’s Director-General, Nigeria Country Office, Dr Abdul Kamara, said the new facility would help Nigeria respond to rising food demand, tackle high food inflation and expand job opportunities in agriculture and agro-industry.
He said the intervention would also deepen the participation of women and youths in the sector while leveraging increased private sector investment.
The bank expects the programme to crowd in about 1.5 billion dollars in new private investment, building on more than 600 million dollars already mobilised during project preparation.
According to AfDB, activities under the first tranche are projected to create about 1.1 million jobs across the 10 participating states, including 200,000 direct and 900,000 indirect jobs.
About 660,000 of the projected jobs – around 60 per cent – are expected to be taken up by youths, while at least half of all positions created will go to women.
Mr Kazuhiro Numasawa, Division Manager in the Agricultural Finance and Rural Development Department of AfDB, said a wide range of private investors had indicated readiness to participate in Phase II across the 10 states covered by the first tranche.
He said several investors had already committed funds and commenced construction works, adding that the bank looked forward to continued collaboration with the Federal Government, state governments and private sector partners to deliver the programme.
