AfDB, IFAD, Others Boost Food Production With $800m

The African Development Bank (AfDB), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and others have pledged to spend $800million to boost food production.

Other institutions who are part of the commitment to reduce poverty, end hunger and increase resilience to climate change in rural communities in Nigeria include Bank of Industry (BoI) and Islamic  Development Bank (ISB).

AfDB said it was ready to spend $500 million to drive the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) project aimed at raising the productivity and competitiveness of the country’s agriculture sector.

The Technical Adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Richard-Mark Mbaram, a member of Feed Nigeria Summit (FNS)’s Organising Committee, said IFAD was also supporting SAPZ with $250 million, while ISB is putting in $80 million.

The project aims at boosting the rapid development of modern agro-processing capacity in the country.

This year, FNS, he noted is  focused on revamping the country’s food system architecture and addressing concerns surrounding critical value chain activities in the agriculture sector.

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The Summit themed; POST-COVID19: A Repaired Food System, Pathway to a Revived Economy, according to him, seeks to capitalise on the positive energy of the Nigerian agriculture sector to strengthen the nation’s overall economy, post-pandemic.

It aims to contribute significantly to the actualization of an inclusive, eûcient and competitive food system for Nigeria.

“The theme of this year’s Feed Nigeria Summit resonates with current realities we face globally from the prism of the food system, heavily occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. From Nigeria’s perspective, there is so much at stake. With this Summit, we are looking to x-ray these realities,” Mbaram said.

He said, “For us, if we can repair the country’s food system, then certainly our economic-revamp efforts will be on the right track. The Summit will achieve this critical objective with the support of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), also keen on advancing the course of its agricultural policy – NATIP.”