About 41 foreign and local investors have indicated their interest to invest in the multibillion dollar agri-food industry – a subset of manufacturing agro-industrial processing sector in Nigeria.
This was revealed in Abuja at the African Development Bank (AfDB) Investors’ Forum on the establishment of a Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs) across the country.
Professor Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, the Special Adviser on Industrialization to the President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, told Daily Trust at the sideline of the event that more core investors would play a key role in modernizing the sector.
“Today, we have 41 confirmations. We have about 12 core investors including Dangote, Olam, and others. These are the big players in the agro-processing sector of Nigeria,” said Professor Banji who coordinates the establishment of Agro-Industrial Processing Zones and Industrial Policy in several African countries.
He emphasized that the broad objectives for the establishment of a Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs) was to raise income, eliminate youth unemployment, reduce food import bill to the barest minimum as well as prices of high-value food products.
“This will be done by raising the productivity of the following Agro-industry sub-sectors: Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock and Fisheries production and through value addition to these materials by way of agro-industrial processing.
“In specific terms, we want to promote private local and foreign investments in agribusiness, increase the contribution of the agriculture sector to GDP, foster wealth and employment creation especially Jobs for Youth,’’ he said.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh at the forum drummed support for the programme as the panacea to the mounting anger on the rising unemployment figures, adding that young men are drowning in the Mediterranean Sea seeking an opportunity that does not exist elsewhere.
The Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones’ replaced the 14 staple crop processing zone earlier mulled by the country’s former minister of Agriculture and rural development, who is now the AfDB president, Dr. Akinwumi Asesina.
