On Monday, the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved a $210m loan to co-finance Phase 1 of Nigeria’s Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone Programme. This is the one of the AfDB’s most ambitious operations in supporting African agriculture to date.
The facility is made of an AfDB loan of $160m along with an Africa Growing Together Fund loan of $50m. It is provided with co-financing from other partners such as the Islamic Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, in the amount of $538.05m.
Phase of Nigeria’s Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone Programme targets the states of Cross River, Kaduna, Imo, Kano, Kwara, Ogun, Oyo and the country’s Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. It aims at unlocking the country’s agriculture sector potential by promoting industrialization through the development of strategic crops such as cassava and rice, and beef and dairy livestock.
“The project areas account for 19% of Nigeria’s total land mass and will benefit 50.4 million people,” the AfDB said. “The zones are designed to concentrate production, processing, storage, transport and the marketing of commodities – like cotton or maize to increase productivity and competitiveness and reduce logistics costs.”
In total, the AfDB plans to establish 18 such zones across Africa as part of its Feed Africa Strategy.