President Muhammadu Buhari has welcomed the provision of $538.05 million for the first phase of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) for Nigeria programme.
The African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development provided the facility.
In a statement, the president’s media aide Femi Adesina said President Muhammadu Buhari disclosed this in his goodwill message to the Feed Africa Summit of Heads of State and Government on Wednesday in Dakar, Senegal.
Furthermore, the President applauded the efforts of the African Development Bank to launch Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ), recounting that he had launched the scheme in Nigeria in October 2022.
He said the SAPZ, which is in the first phase, would cover seven states in Nigeria.
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‘‘These very innovative public-private partnership models will help us to transform the agriculture sector much faster and use it to generate wealth,” Buhari said.
‘‘They will also allow our countries to develop integrated infrastructure around our agricultural processes and add value to the production of crops, livestock, and fisheries.”
Buhari also welcomed the provision of $538.05 million by the multilateral financing institutions for the first phase of the SAPZ in Nigeria.
“I am pleased with the partnership approach used for Nigeria by the multilateral financing institutions, with the African Development Bank providing $210 million, the Islamic Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development providing $310 million, and the Government of Nigeria providing $18.05 million,” he said.
‘‘The Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones are game changers for the structural transformation of the agricultural sector.
‘‘I therefore urge that as we develop the food and agriculture delivery compacts from this summit, special attention should be placed on the development of special agro-industrial processing zones.’’
