…Establish Agric Production Clusters, Reduce Post-Harvest Losses

…Offer Support To 100,000 Farmers Nationwide, Boost Food Security

…WHO, Nigerian Governors To Sign Health Compact Agreement

There are indications that the level of hunger, including the inflationary trend in the country featured prominently at the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting on Thursday, a development that may have prompted stakeholders at the meeting chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima to announce plans to channel at least $1.52 billion in donor funds into 36 special agro-industrial pro­cessing zones nationwide.

NEC is also projecting that the agro-processing zones will create 17.5 million jobs and offer support to 100,000 farmers nationwide.

The first phase, which now runs in Kano, Kaduna, Kwara, Ogun, Oyo, Imo, Cross River and the Federal Capital Ter­ritory, will gulp over $520 million and is set to conclude by 2028.

To this end, about 26 states have ex­pressed interest in joining Phase II of the programme, where the $1 billion funding from the AfDB and other partners will be chan­neled.

The states will begin docu­mentation for the second phase in early 2024.

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, gave the hint while briefing State House correspondents after the conclusion of the 137th National Economic Council (NEC) meet­ing.

Kyari said the funds are earli­er pledges by the African Develop­ment Bank, Islamic Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, who voted $1 billion to deliver SAPZs in 24 states at the Nor­man Borlaug International Di­alogue, World Food Prize 202, in Des Moines, Iowa, USA, in late October.

This is aside from an initial $520 million voted by the devel­opment partners for the same purpose.

“The Vice President who at­tended the World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa, met with the president of the African Devel­opment Bank, Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, who has already pledged $1 billion to the second phase,” the minister noted.

He noted that his ministry made a presentation to the coun­cil outlining the collaborative pro­gramme with the African Devel­opment Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Develop­ment, the Islamic Development Bank, various state governments, and private investors.

“The seven states are Kano, Kaduna, Kwara, Ogun, Oyo, Imo and Cross River and like I said, with the FCT being the eighth partner in this programme.

“The quick wins here are that even in the stage of construction, you will have the opportunity for over 3,000 jobs.

“And at the end of the con­struction, opportunities will be for almost 500,000 jobs on each zone that is for each state and then also to support about 100,000 farmers”, he explained.

The minister described the SAPZs as a cross-cutting ini­tiative and platform to attract private sector investment, add value to Nigeria’s agro-process­ing, and unlock opportunities for improved food security and job creation.

He revealed that the pro­gramme, which commenced in 2022, saw the active participation of seven states and the Federal Capital Territory, even as the zones will not only serve as pro­duction sites “but also hubs for aggregation and processing of agricultural produce.”

The programme has ear­marked approximately $530 mil­lion for the first phase, aiming to establish clusters of agricultural production and significantly re­duce post-harvest losses, the for­mer lawmaker noted.

“For instance, Kano has keyed in to do a lot of tomatoes in this zone. And we know that tomato losses run to almost 50 to 60 per­cent. It is unacceptable in today’s agricultural sector,” the minister pointed out.

On Phase II, Kyari said, “We have already received expres­sions of interest from about 26 states so far. The second phase is supposed to kick in from next year. This first phase will last for five years. And the documenta­tion for Phase Two will begin by next year.

“There are only three states (Abia, Adamawa and Yobe) that have not expressed interest. But as we were leaving here, one (Abia State) had already signified and are working on sending the expression of interest.”

The council also acknowl­edged the leading role of Ogun State in the development of these zones.

Kyari said despite Ogun’s de­lay in signing the subsidiary loan agreement, a commitment was recently secured from the state government to sign it promptly.

To further expedite the initia­tive, the council approved “the accelerated transmission of the official documents to funders by the Federal Ministry of Finance” and granted a waiver from the same ministry for the payment of performance allowance to project staff by the funders as requested by the executing agency to “avoid project implementation risks.”

The NEC called for “a lot of en­thusiasm from state governors to participate and key into” the proj­ect, which it said will drive signif­icant economic growth through job creation and modernised agricultural practices.

WHO, Nigerian Governors To Sign Health Compact Agreement

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and all the 36 states governors will sign a compact agreement to improve healthcare services delivery in the country.

Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bau­chi State stated this on Thursday while briefing newsmen at the end of the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting chaired by the Vice President Kashim Shettima, at the Presidential Vil­la, Abuja.

He explained that the decision to sign an agreement with WHO was reached at the council after a presentation on Nigeria’s Health Sector Renewal Programme by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate.

According to him, the presen­tation looks at all the challenges in health sector from financing, human capital, and supervisory point of view.

He also said that the presenta­tion reviews the leadership level from the presidency to the local levels and the need for governors and local governments to put in­terest on the health sector.

The governor noted that with­out the health sector being taken care of, the country may not have the necessary technological devel­opment required.

“So there was a resolution of council that the World Health Or­ganisation is coming on Decem­ber 15, all the governors will come and sign a compact agreement in terms of service compact.

“Governors will be able to reiterate our determination to approach the health sector in terms of budgeting, given it the required impetus, the required attention that it deserves.

“The National Economic Council (NEC) received a pre­sentation from the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare on Nigeria’s Health Sec­tor Renewal Programme which looked and dissected in terms of very robust sector scan on health.

“From tertiary to the prima­ry level, looking at all the gaps, the problem and challenges of funding, and even of the need for renewed interest by stakeholders, mostly governors at the subna­tional level, experts, doctors and everybody.

“And of course the Renewed Hope that President Bola Tinu­bu’s administration is trying to establish in trying to bring syn­ergy and collaboration between all the various stakeholders in the country.

“And they are trying to make sure that they establish a compact in a manner that we will be able to generate resources from every­where.”

The governor said that after presentation by the minister, suggestions were made on how to generate resources from taxes in communications, on airlines as well as taxes from the state gov­ernment to bridge the gap.

“Certainly, we have huge prob­lem on human capital and the need to develop strategy to retain our own experts to take care of our own health sector.”