The Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs), a strategic
initiative of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has the capacity to
structurally transform Nigeria’s economy by promoting effective
agro-industrialisation.
According to a report by AgroNigeria, this was the central message
from the Senior Special Adviser on Industrialization to the President
of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Prof. Oyebanji
Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, at a top-caliber meeting attended by Nigeria’s
south west governors and top private sector officials at the Executive
Council Chambers in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The SAPZ is a project designed by AfDB to concentrate agro-processing
activities within areas of high agricultural potentials in order to
increase productivity and competitiveness across Africa.
Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, in his presentation titled “A Roadmap for the
Development of SAPZs in Nigeria,” emphasised the Nigeria’s
agro-industry and its manufacturing sectors must be triggered in order
to stimulate economic growth in the country.
Nigeria’s agro-industrial output, he added, is germane to the growth
rate of the country’s GDP.
The project, he pointed out, will provide millions of youth and rural
men and women with employment and entrepreneurship opportunities
through the creation of sustainable agribusinesses.
Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, who is a global expert on Industrialization and
Technological Change, further, explained that SAPZs would prioritize
key agricultural value chains by providing platforms for Nigeria’s
agro commodities to thrive, thereby reviving past valuable
agro-industrial assets some of which have fallen into disuse.
The SAPZ, he said, would also help to boost value addition, reduce
food import, process agricultural raw materials turning them into
high-value items for export.
The Don emphasized the SAPZs project will revive promising brownfields
across the country in its bid to promote inclusivity and spread impact
into surrounding states. He also added that it would maximise positive
engagement with youths and women to ensure the creation of sustainable
agribusinesses.
