Abuja: The Federal Government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme have committed to transforming all states in Nigeria into agro-industrial hubs by the year 2026. This ambitious goal was announced during the first joint Federal Government/IFAD Supervision Mission Wrap-Up of SAPZ, held on Friday in Abuja. Dr. Dede Ekoue, the Country Director for IFAD, emphasized the project’s comprehensive implementation strategy designed to achieve nationwide agro-industrial development.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Dr. Ekoue highlighted the success of the accelerated pilot intervention in Kano, which has served as an effective model for the project’s future implementation. This pilot initiative has already reached 1,000 beneficiaries out of the 7,398 profiled farmers within the state from September 2024 to September 2025, demonstrating the project’s potential to deliver tangible benefits to smallholder farmers. The project is curren
tly on track to meet its gender and youth representation targets, with 44.5 percent of beneficiaries being female and 28.8 percent youth.
Dr. Ekoue further expressed confidence in reaching the target of 24,000 beneficiaries in both Ogun and Kano states by 2025. She called for the concerted efforts of stakeholders to expedite the pace of implementation and expand successful interventions. The project has also focused on capacity building for farmer-based organizations, establishing demonstration plots, and fostering partnerships with local institutions and the private sector. A Memorandum of Understanding with the Commodity Alliance Federation has been signed to enhance market opportunities for farmers.
Dr. Kabir Yusuf, National Programme Coordinator for SAPZ, outlined the project’s primary objective of supporting the development of SAPZs in high food production areas to supply domestic markets and generate exportable surpluses. He noted that the program is being piloted in Kano and will eventually extend to
all 36 states through government buy-in. Dr. Yusuf projected that the SAPZ project could create at least 500,000 jobs per state, significantly contributing to national food security by 2025.
Mr. Musa Bukar, Director of the Project Coordinating Unit at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, stated that the supervision mission aimed to assess the project’s implementation in Kano and recommend strategies to overcome bottlenecks. He confirmed that the SAPZ initiative has successfully fostered collaboration with key stakeholders, aligning with local needs and providing a solid foundation for future successes.
Tabi Karikari, Chief Agro-Industrial Officer at the African Development Bank (AfDB), described the SAPZ program as a transformative initiative capable of turning rural communities from zones of poverty into zones of prosperity, further underscoring the program’s potential impact on Nigeria’s agricultural landscape.
