The Federal Government, alongside international development partners and private sector stakeholders, has validated the draft policy for the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme.
Announcing the milestone during a stakeholder workshop in Abuja on Monday, July 27, 2026, the National Programme Coordinator of SAPZ, Dr Kabir Yusuf, stated that the policy framework will guide the planning, regulation, and sustainable operation of agro-industrial hubs aimed at attracting 4.4 billion dollars in private sector investments.
The validation workshop, themed “Facilitating Seamless Investment Entry and Operations in Nigeria’s Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones,” established operational guidelines to transform primary farming into bankable commercial enterprises.
Dr Yusuf emphasised that the SAPZ framework functions as an industrialisation strategy anchored on agriculture, harmonising existing trade, economic zones, and investment policies without replacing them.
Phase One covers seven states and the Federal Capital Territory, with project feasibility metrics indicating an economic internal rate of return of 30.85 per cent and a financial return of 30.71 per cent.
The policy addresses structural vulnerabilities in Nigeria’s food supply chain, highlighted by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari.
Minister Kyari noted that Nigeria’s annual food import bill, exceeding 10 billion dollars, stands in sharp contrast to agricultural export earnings of less than 400 million dollars.
Furthermore, infrastructure deficits, such as inadequate processing plants, poor rural road networks, and limited cold-chain storage, result in post-harvest losses of 30 to 60 per cent annually, costing the national economy between 9 billion and 10 billion dollars.
International partners reaffirmed their support for the multi-agency initiative, which involves over 20 federal ministries, state governments, and multilateral lenders.
Country Director for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Mrs Dede Ekoue, stressed that smallholder farmers, rural youth, and women-led cooperatives must participate as active commercial actors rather than passive program beneficiaries.
Ekoue noted that ongoing institutional collaboration between IFAD, the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) remains critical to providing smallholders with technology access, extension services, and direct links to industrial processors.
Source: NAN
Image Credit: SAPZ
