By Nneka Nwogwugwu
African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced that it is targeting the creation of 400,000 jobs through the establishment of Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs) across the country.
The Director-General, Nigeria Country Department, Lamin Barrow, who spoke at the Agribusiness & Food Security Summit organised by Vanguard Newspapers in Lagos on Friday, noted that being government-enabled and private sector- led, Phase 1 of the SAPZ Programme will mobilise significant investments in the agro-industrial hubs and agricultural transformation centres.
“It will impact some 1.5 million households as direct beneficiaries, with a target to create 400,000 direct jobs and up to 1.6 million indirect jobs. The bank and other co-financiers – International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) – have approved $538 million to finance the first phase of the programme in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory. The programme will support the Nigeria’s efforts to raise agricultural productivity, promote investments, create wealth and jobs, and transform the rural areas from being zones of misery into zones of economic prosperity,” he said.
He said the bank is supporting Nigeria to implement bold policy measures to drive the transformation of agriculture and foster economic diversification through the development of SAPZs.
The zones, he added, will be enabled with infrastructure and logistics to support private sector food and agri-business companies to process and add value to agricultural commodities close to the areas of production.
“For Africa to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth, we must boost food security and transform the agricultural sector.
“That is why the African Development Bank launched its Feed Africa Strategy in 2016 in response to the widening gap in food self-sufficiency in Africa, and to contribute to efforts to end hunger, malnutrition and extreme poverty, and increase Africa’s share of the global commodity value chains. Feed Africa takes a value chain approach to transforming the agriculture sector of African countries,” he noted.
Source: The Nation