By Godfrey AKON
The African Development Bank, AfDB, has reaffirmed its commitment to mobilising an additional $2.2 billion to execute the second phase of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone, SAPZ, project across 28 states in Nigeria.
President of AfDB, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, gave the assurance at groundbreaking ceremony of SAPZ in Calabar on Thursday by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Adesina said Cross River State has a significant role to play in Nigeria’s agricultural transformation because of the vast production of cocoa, cassava, rice and banana in the state, adding that Obudu Cattle Ranch alone can turn the state into a huge livestock producer.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of The Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, said in a statement that the AfDB president noted that Cross River was ideal for SAPZ because it has an export processing zone, ports facility, and export handling capabilities.
He added that the SAPZ in Calabar can easily be linked to the seaport for the transportation of processed agricultural commodities to the export market in neighbouring countries, including Cameroon and the rest.
“The African Development Bank, as you know, is spearheading this together with our partners, which include the Islamic Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and we have put together $934 million from the African Development Bank, with core financing of $938 million from these partners.
“The first phase of SAPZ in Nigeria will be in eight states of Cross River, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Oyo, Ogun, Kwara, Imo and the Federal Capital Territory. We are delighted with our partnership with the Islamic Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
“We have put together a financing package of $510 million to make this work. We expect, in the second phase of this, to mobilise $2.2 billion to be able to work for 28 states across the federation with several partners,” he said.
The construction of the SAPZ in Calabar is the second of such a facility initiated within 72 hours after Vice President Kashim Shettima had on Tuesday performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Kaduna State SAPZ in the Chikun local government area of the state.
Speaking at the ceremony, Shettima described the project as “a game changer” that aligns with the President Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, aimed at diversifying the nation’s economy, addressing food security, tackling rural unemployment, as well as empowering farmers and the youth population.
“There is no intervention more practical in our dream of a nation where the potential of agriculture is maximised than what’s brought us together today. This isn’t just a project—it’s a bold vision to transform Nigeria’s agricultural value chain,” he said.
According to him, the SAPZ initiative, supported with counterpart funding from development partners and the private sector, is designed to address challenges that have long hindered the growth of Nigeria’s agricultural economy, including inadequate processing infrastructure, limited access to markets, and rural unemployment.
“For far too long, our farmers have contended with poor infrastructure, lack of access to finance, and inadequate processing facilities. This zone is designed to confront those challenges head-on by creating an ecosystem where innovation, investment, and collaboration thrive,” he noted.
VP Shettima explained that the Calabar SAPZ will serve as a hub for agro-processing and storage, providing farmers and agripreneurs with critical infrastructure to scale their operations and tap into local and international markets.
Earlier, Cross River State Governor, Senator Otu, said the programme marked a watershed in the ongoing bid by his administration to establish the renewable resource base of the state through the full utilisation of agriculture and its multiple value chain.
Otu pointed out that in Cross River State, the establishment of a cluster of smallholder farmers in cash crops such as rice, cassava, millet, and cocoa across the state is the right step towards the agro-industrial revolution.
He said the paradigm shift from a non-renewable to a renewable resource base also holds the key to the prosperity of many nations, hence the imperative to join the league of sub-nationals in Nigeria that have adopted agriculture as the mainstay of their economy.
“The deliverables of the envisaged projects are food security, diversification of the state economy towards export-oriented trajectory and increase in the State’s GDP. When these projects are fully operational there is an expected robust collaboration with reputable agro-based processing institutes, universities and the rest, aimed at accelerating breakthroughs in many agro-industrial production,” he said
