Agriculture
Buhari launches Special Agro-Processing Zones in 7 States, FCT
Federal Government in a bid to diversify the economy from oil and gas dependent, President Muhammadu Buhari, has launched Special Agro-Processing Zones Programme, SAPZ, in seven States and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. Buhari who was represented by Voce President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo described the SAPZ as game-changer, as it would give a boost to food production, wealth creation, employment generation, and export. He acknowledged Nigeria’s large arable land, relatively cheap labour should be able to feed herself, which he pointed some challenges facing agriculture recently including inflation, high food prices, high input prices, insecurity, Russia-Ukraine War, drought and flooding caused by climate change. The Nigeria Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme is a government-enabled and private sector-led initiative that will and mobilise private sector investment to develop value chains for selected strategic crops and livestock in the participating States. Nigeria will implement the first phase of of the SAPZ programme with co-financing from the African Development Bank, AfDB, International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD, and Islamic Development Bank, IsDB.
The total amount mobilised for Phase 1 is $538.05 million, which African Development Bank is providing $210 million; the IFAD together with the Green Climate Fund, $160 million; IsDB $150.52 million, while from the Federal Government of Nigeria is $2.01 million, and $16.01 million from the seven participating States. The participating States under Phase 1 include Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, Imo, Cross Rivers, and Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
Essence of the launch of SAPZ is to formally announce the Nigeria SAPZ to key stakeholders; national, and international partners, co-financiers, development partners, the private sector, farmers groups, national networks and diaspora population and other actors. To attract private sector investment into the zones; To raise public awareness of the SAPZ programme; To demonstrate political support at the highest levels of Federal and State governments in Nigeria, and the leadership of key partners. And to enhance understanding of the roles of key actors involved in the implementation process. He said “a nation such as ours with large track of arable land and relatively cheap labour should be able to feed itself processed food and produced for domestic use, and also for export, creating millions of good paying jobs. But that is clearly not the case. What we have today aside from the few large commercial farms are mainly aggregation of subsistence farmers who do what they can without support by a a clear and dedicated plan for industrialisation of agriculture.
So the well thought out answer to our predicament is the Special Agro-Processing Zones Programme, SAPZ, programme. The Programme was recently approved by the Federal Executive Council. “It is a major crosscutting value chain investment effort driven by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural in alignment with the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy of the Federal Government to incentivise agro-industrialisation private sector development.” Meanwhile, the President explained that specifically, the SAPZ is designed to develop multiple clusters of agricultural transformation centres, and added that they would have functional infrastructure including road networks, power, water, communication facilities, and others to attract private investments. According to him, the SAPZ programme is a five -year programme being implemented Hy the Federal Government of Nigeria in partnership with the African Development Bank, AfDB, International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD, Islamic Development Bank, State Governments, and private investors.
However, he pointed that the Programme ks designed to bring about import substitution in order to reduce food import bill, boost revenue from agriculture exports, create wealth for rural farming communities, create new sustainable jobs for women and young people, stem rural-urban migration, and revive public and private sector funded assets, improve business environment, and others. He also expressed optimism that the Programme would solve food problems and feed the continent’s largest population, as it has become a strategic and integral part of the agricultural policies of the government.nAlso disclosed that the second phase will bring on board 18 States, which the SAPZ would benefit from technology and innovation, where the Programme is poised to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, AfCTA, which would make Nigeria “be the bread basket and agribusiness hub in Africa.” He added that the Programme would be a catalyst to the National Livestock Transformation Programme, and others.
He further stated that, “We must incentivise agriculture through greater investments and enabling environment for private sector participation, and to advance our agro-industrialisation.” Earlier, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Mohammad Abubakar, in a remark said, “The SAPZ is the flagship for Nigeria’s agriculture, which entails the development and operation of agro industrial processing clusters in areas of high food production across the country, to engender the competitiveness in agro industrial production and processing that is critical to further unlock the potentials of Nigeria’s agriculture, to improve food and nutrition security, to reduce post harvest losses, create jobs for women and youth, as well as create wealth for the rural community.” Abubakar added that the SAPZ is to transform the agricultural sector into an advantageous one in Africa.
According to him its successful implementation would create up to 550,000 additional new jobs in production, processing and other associated activities and contribute up to about $10 million to Nigeria’s economy annually through additional cultivation of up to about 950,000 hectares of land. “This will add to agricultural output of up to 12.7 million metric tonnes per annum, as well as value added processing of up to 6.2 million metric tonnes per annum”, he said. IFAD has been a strong partner with Nigeria for our entire history, since our founding in 1977. “With the SAPZ project we will have reached $700 million in direct investment with Nigeria and with co-financing of $1.2 billion with our partners in Nigeria. We are focused on building rural resilience building rural communities where people can grow, produce small scale agriculture and improve those outputs along the value chain to have rural, sustainable, vibrant communities. We know that food is not just the future of food is the present. Investing in food is investing in our present and our future.
And I think that the current global food crisis has made this apparent to every person in every nation today. IFAD has in response to the recent floods and in recognition of our long standing partnership with the government of Nigeria scaled up our support to dry season farming to help the people of Nigeria produce additional food in the historic dry season where less food has been traditionally produced. I am also delighted to announce today a special new significant contribution by ephod for Nigeria in response to the flooding. This is a grant funding of almost $5 million to be invested in climate resilient agriculture.” On the launch of the SAPZ, she (Meighan) said, “IFAD is honoured to be a partner with the Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as the African Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank in this Programme.
“We are proud that our investment will contribute directly to the incomes of 100,000 small farmers and food producers in Nigeria we believe that there is importance to have a strong focus on youth and women, smallholder farmers and producers in particular, while also bringing in the private sector and others in the four P model which we use the ‘Public Private private Producer Partnership’ to make sure that these investments are sustainable, and long standing. The SAPZ project is a game changer. We believe that investment in food and food production is imperative for today and investments in food and food production is imperative for our future. We are honoured to work with the Republic of Nigeria to support this game changing project. I wish everyone involved in the project all success.” Meanwhile, speaking on behalf of governors from participating States, the Governor of Cross River State, Prof Ben Ayade, lamented how machines brought into the country by a Dutch firm for land clearing and preparation have been held down at the Lagos port for over six months, and the Nigerian Customs Service is bent on collecting revenue from the company, hence hampering food production process. Ayade also charged the Ministers of Agric, Finance, and Trade to ensure sustainability of the Programme with passion in order for it not to die, and added that the incoming Government should take the SAPZ programme seriously and not to look elsewhere.
Some farmers’ associations in Lagos State have predicted further drop in the price of the commodity ahead of the yuletide following Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s slash in the price of Lagos rice.
The farmers made this known in separate interviews with journalists on Sunday in Lagos. Mr Sanwo-Olu recently slashed the price of Lagos Rice from N64,000 to N57,000 per bag, which the farmers described as a good development.
The vice chairman of the All Farmers Association, South-West and Lagos State chapter, Sakin Agbayewa, commended the state government for the strategic move.
Mr Agbayewa said the development would likely bring about competition in the sector, thereby crashing further the price of the commodity.
“And hopefully, we want to believe that with this competitive price and competition, maybe in one week or two weeks, the price of rice will further drop.
Presently, the price of foreign rice is between N52,000 and N56,000, and that depends on where you are buying it. If you are buying it very close to the border, it comes at N52,000.
If you are buying it from the main market, it sells between N54,000 and N55,000 per 50kg bag, and the extra cost comes off as transportation costs,” Mr Agbayewa said.
According to him, if foreign rice sells between N52,000 and N56,000, the consumers may be buying rice that has been stored for over three to five years or even expired.
“It is a good buy, I would prefer the Lagos rice at N57,000 than buy cheaper rice with lower quality,” he said.
On his part, the chairman of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Lagos State chapter, Raphael Hunsa, commended the Lagos State government for the initiative.
“The government is always on top in terms of policy decisions that affect the people.
The Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu dropping the price of rice is a great move.
If production is low, definitely the demand will be high, and subsequently, the price will be high too,” Mr Hunsa said.
The Lagos State government pegging a bag of rice at N57,000 this season is most beneficial to Nigerias.
“We, however, urge the government to continue to support rice farmers to increase our production, and subsequently, the price of rice and other staples will continue to drop.
This Christmas is now at our door, and everyone will celebrate well with this drop in price,” Mr unsa said. NAN
The National Agricultural Land Development Authority says its ongoing Renewed Hope mega farms estates in Kwara and Ekiti will lift no fewer than 100,000 people out of poverty. It said the project would also create 12,000 direct jobs, 30,000 indirect jobs. The executive secretary of NALDA, Cornelius Adebayo, said this on the sidelines of an event organised by the organisation at CoP30 and MoU signing ceremony in Belem, according to a statement on Thursday. He identified the estates as one of the organisation’s flagship projects under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu. He said they were large-scale agricultural settlements covering between 5,000 and 25,000 hectres.
Mr Adebayo said the pioneer estates had begun in Ekiti and Kwara with over 1,200 hectares and 1,050 hectares under cultivation. He said the agency’s carbon-credit initiative is not only a climate solution but also a socio-economic reform that empowers farmers. Mr Adebayo explained that under the Mega Farm Estates, each farmer is allocated five hectares of farmland. He said that this would enable them to earn sustainable agricultural income while also benefiting from a share of carbon credit revenues generated through structured tree-planting and estate-wide reforestation. “Our goal is to move Nigerians from a low-income bracket to a true middle-class economy by combining agricultural productivity with carbon-credit earning, farmers can become independent, prosperous and globally competitive.
These estates are fully mechanised, equipped with complete infrastructure such as roads, irrigation systems, processing hubs, housing, and energy systems to function as full agricultural settlements. As part of their sustainability framework, each estate will receive comprehensive perimeter fencing, along which NALDA will plant thousands of climate-resilient trees capable of generating significant carbon credits over time. This ensures that beyond food production and job creation, farmers within these estates can earn additional income from carbon markets, allowing them to transition from low-income status into the middle-income economy,” he said.
Mr Adebayo said the event provided a platform for Nigeria to share its contributions to global climate solutions, exchange knowledge with partners and strengthen collaboration on nature-based approaches that support mitigation, adaptation, and sustainable land use. He said that over the years the NALDA’s operational mandate was expanded to directly align with Nigeria’s climate commitments by integrating afforestation, reforestation, sustainable land management, and biodiversity enhancement into its plantation programmes. Mr Adebayo said that NALDA’s plantations across different ecological zones represented one of the most promising nature-based climate assets in Nigeria. “They hold the potential to generate high-integrity carbon removals, attract climate finance, and empower thousands of young people and rural farmers. Our presence at CoP30 is to spotlight these transformational efforts and outline the ambitious NALDA Plantation Carbon Roadmap,” he said. NAN
The director-general of the Pan-African Organisation for Small and Medium Industries, Henry Emejuo, says cassava remains central to Africa’s food security and industrial development. Mr Emejuo, who spoke on the sidelines of the just-concluded three-day Africa Cassava Conference in Abuja, described the crop as both an economic commodity and a daily staple across the continent. He said cassava’s versatility made it indispensable in households, as there was hardly a day when a Nigerian or African home did not consume a cassava-based product such as garri or tapioca. Emejuo said the crop also held significant industrial value, producing materials such as ethanol, high-quality cassava flour, sorbitol and healthy sweeteners used across manufacturing sectors.
He said the conference provided a critical platform for policymakers, scientists and industrialists to harmonise strategies that would deepen cassava utilisation and unlock its economic potential. The PAOSMI boss said:” Delegates from more than seven African countries spent three days examining policy, technical and scientific issues affecting the cassava value chain.” He described the conference as a success, saying the outcomes would guide countries in expanding the industrial use of cassava and in strengthening its role in driving economic development. Mustafa Bakano, national president of the Nigeria Cassava Growers Association, said deliberations from the meeting would address key challenges faced by smallholder farmers, including access to finance, farming practices, and industrial standards.
According to him, the presence of financial institutions such as the Bank of Industry offered stakeholders the opportunity to develop practical solutions to present to governments. Michael Kento, an assistant professor of Agricultural Sciences and Food Security at the University of Juba, South Sudan, described the conference as an eye-opener for his country. He expressed South Sudan’s zeal to learn from Nigeria’s leadership in cassava production, especially in extension services, processing, marketing, policy development and research. Mr Kento said Nigeria’s cassava success would translate to the continent’s success, and deeper collaboration between both countries would strengthen the subsector and improve food security, nutrition and industrial growth in South Sudan.
Emmanuel Bobobee of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, said mechanised cassava production was key to transforming cassava into an engine for Africa’s next phase of industrial development. Mr Bobobee said his mechanical cassava harvester, already in use in several countries, could support large-scale production if adopted more widely. He added, ”The participation of seven countries demonstrates rising continental interest in cassava, and the crop should be placed at the centre of Africa’s fourth industrial revolution. Ghana and Nigeria share similar agricultural challenges, and both countries stand to benefit from sharing innovations and strengthening cross-border collaboration.*
The three-day conference brought together policymakers, researchers, industrialists and farmers to explore opportunities in processing, technology adoption, export and the development of cassava-based products across Africa. It ended with a dinner and the presentation of awards to distinguished players and partners in the sector.
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