Nigeria Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones initiative to be launched Oct 24




© FAR

What:      Launch of Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones Phase One Nigeria

Who:       The President of Nigeria, government officials, investors, and leaders of the following financial institutions:

The African Development Bank
The Islamic Development Bank
The International Fund for Agricultural Development
When:   Monday, 24 October 2022 at 10:00 am WAT

              Tuesday, 25 October 2022 at 2:00 pm WAT

Where:  Ministry of Foreign Affairs Auditorium, Abuja on Monday; AfDB Nigeria country office on Tuesday; and online

The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, jointly with the African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development will launch the Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) initiative for Nigeria on 24 and 25 October 2022.

The launch in the federal capital, Abuja, will herald the implementation of SAPZ phase 1, and sends a strong message about Nigeria’s commitment to significantly transform its agriculture sector, create jobs, achieve food security, and generate economic revenue.

The first phase of the Nigeria SAPZ program is co-financed by key development partners to the tune of $538.05 million. The African Development Bank is providing $210 million. The Islamic Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development will provide combined funding of $310 million. The government of Nigeria is contributing $18.05 million.

The two-day event will bring together government officials, implementing partners, potential investors, farmers, agripreneurs, members of the diplomatic corps, and the development community.

The event will feature the following:

Day1 (October 24):   SAPZ launch
Day 2 (October 25):  Partnerships and interaction with strategic investors
The Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones will feature world-class facilities capable of attracting global investment, particularly, private sector interest, and driving a market-oriented agricultural transformation that will boost agro-processing capacity across Africa.