Stakeholders on Monday tasked the federal and state governments on accelerated implementation of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones project (SAPZ) for inclusive growth and economic development.
SAPZ is a major investment programme to accelerate the industrialisation of the agricultural sector in Nigeria.
The stakeholders – International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), African Development Bank (AfDB), Islamic Development Bank, among others – made the call at the SAPZ Phase 1 High Level Implementation Acceleration Dialogue and States Steering/Technical Committed Workshop in Abuja.
IFAD Country Director for Nigeria, Dede Ekoue, called for collaborative efforts to address the challenges affecting the implementation of SAPZ.
Ekoue identified key actions to consider towards accelerated implementation of the project as strengthening coordination at all levels, bolstering technical capacity with additional seasoned experts and addressing financial incentives.
Other actions according to her are: ensuring highly competitive recruitment to attract the best resource persons for the innovative, yet complex programme; compliance by all actors with financial agreement governing the programme implementation.
Ekoue reiterated the IFAD’s commitment, as one of the key development partners supporting the project, to work with all parties involved to fast-track the pace of implementation.
According to Ekoue, IFAD is currently implementing the SAPZ project in Kano State in collaboration with the government.
She said the project was an accelerated pilot project aimed at boosting the capacity of rice and tomato farmers and strengthening their linkage with off-takers.
“IFAD has provided technical support to the Programme Management Unit (PMU) and encouraged partnership with key state actors in Kano, including private sector, national agencies, farmers’ organisations and international organisations.
“We are pleased that the implementation of these strategies has led to some quick wins, such as the signing of off-take contracts.
“IFAD has mobilised its procurement experts to expedite the procurement of agro inputs for the farmers selected for this pilot.
“This has been achieved through a close partnership with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), which is co-financing SAPZ Phase 1 in Kano alongside IFAD, which has been instrumental in driving this process forward,” she said.
The National Programme Coordinator, SAPZ, Dr Kabir Yusuf, said the first phase of the project was being implemented in Cross River, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Ogun, Oyo and the FCT.
Yusuf said SAPZ was a comprehensive and inclusive agro-industrialisation programme designed to create integrated, agriculturally focused platforms that would accelerate private sector investment in value-added agro-processing.
He added that the programme was designed to unlock opportunities for improved food security, job creation, import substitution and rural poverty reduction.
He said it would also increase contribution of agriculture to national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“The programme’s development objective is to support inclusive and sustainable agro-industrial development in the country.
“The key expected outcomes of SAPZ phase 1 are development of infrastructure for eight agro-industrial processing hubs, 15 agricultural transformation centres, 2,300 hectres of irrigated lands and farm to market access roads among others,” he said.
The Senior Special Adviser to the President of African Development Bank (AfDB), Prof. Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, said the success of the first phase would ensure the addition of eight to 10 states in the second phase of SAPZ.
Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, however, said failure to accelerate the implementation of the project by December would deter AfDB from approving the second phase.
NAN
