Tinubu to spend $500m on agric sector
President Bola Tinubu-led administration says that it will be spending $500m on developing the agricultural sector in the country. A government statement issued on Tuesday quotes Tinubu’s deputy, Kashim Shettima, as saying so to the UN Food Systems Summit, holding in Rome, Italy.
Shettima, in the statement, said the government got the funds “through domestic resources, multilateral development banks, international financial institutions, climate funds leading agro-businesses.”
He also said the money would be used for “innovation finance for food system transformation; development of Nigeria’s agro value chain and on Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones programmes.”
The vice president added, “In this event, the Government of Nigeria will be showcasing its Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) as a unique example of a successful partnership between producers, the public sector and private operators.”
“The VCDP which is co-funded by the of Nigeria and IFAD has empowered vulnerable farmers and youth to engage into commercial partnerships with some of the biggest food processing and marketing firms in the world such as OLAM, a world leading agri-business company operating in over 60 countries with an annual revenue of about $39.8 billion.”
Equally, Shettima said the government will encourage the “rural smallholders and operators, youth and women living below the poverty line to take advantage of the new Special Processing Zones.”
He explains that the administration is collaborating with local government authorities, IFAD, AfDB, IsDB, GCF, OLAM and other private actors to drive the SAPZ.
In attendance at the roundtable are Prime Minister of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud; Deputy President of Kenya, Rigathi Gachagua; and Prime Minister of Niger Republic, Ouhoudou Mahamadou, President of IFAD, Dr. Alvaro Lario; H.E. Muhammad Suleiman Al Jasser, President of Islamic Development Bank (IsDB); Vice President of AfDB, Mrs. Hassatau N’Sele, Vice President of OLAM International Mr. Reji George and Vice President, Commodity Alliance Forum (Representative of farmers) Mrs Ejim Lovelyn.
