National Economic Council To Channel $1.52 Billion Funds Into Agro Industry

The National Economic Council (NEC) announced Thursday it will allocate $1.52 billion in donor funds to 36 special agro-industrial processing zones across Nigeria. The aim is to create more than 18 million jobs, including 100,000 farmers.

The first phase of the project will cover Kano, Kaduna, Kwara, Ogun, Oyo, Imo and Cross River, as well as the Federal Capital Territory. More than $520 million will be allocated for the phase, which will conclude in 2028.

A funding of $1 billion from the African Development Bank and other partners will be channeled to the second phase, which will cover 26 other states. The second phase of documentation work will start in early 2024.

Abubakar Kyari, minister of Agriculture and Food Security, shared the details of the project after a meeting Thursday.

He said NEC Vice-President Kashim Shettima met African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina last month.

The minister said his ministry has created a presentation to the council outlining the collaborative program with the African Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Islamic Development Bank, various state governments and several private investors.

"The seven states are Kano, Kaduna, Kwara, Ogun, Oyo, Imo, and Cross River, and like I said, with the FCT being the eighth partner in this program," he said, TheCable reported. "The quick wins here are that even in the stage of construction, you will have the opportunity for over 3,000 jobs."

"And at the end of the construction, opportunities will be for almost 500,000 jobs on each zone that is for each state and then also to support about 100,000 farmers," he added.

Kyari believes such programs will add value to Nigeria's agro-processing by improving food security and generating more jobs. The NEC has reportedly encouraged state governors to participate in the project with a lot of enthusiasm as it will eventually benefit the agricultural practices in the country.

According to the AFEX Wet Season Crop Production Report for 2023, the consumption of rice has steadily increased in Nigeria and local production is not able to cope with the trend. Rice prices skyrocketed due to a gap of two million metric tons this year.