The African Development Bank (AfDB) and its partners have successfully raised $2.2 billion (approximately N3.4 trillion) to support the second phase of Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones in Nigeria.
This funding will be allocated to 24 states across the country.
Outgoing AfDB President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, announced the initiative at the 2025 Standard Chartered Bank Africa Summit in Lagos, Persecondnews reports.
He noted that the AfDB and its partners had previously launched the first phase of the programme in eight states, including Ogun, Oyo, Cross River, and Kaduna.
According to Adesina, a former Minister of Agriculture, this project is designed to transform Nigeria’s agricultural sector by improving food security, increasing domestic production, and creating thousands of jobs.
According to him, investments are necessary to unlock the agricultural potential in Nigeria and Africa in general, particularly for enhancing the value of agricultural commodities.
To achieve this, he emphasized the need for the development of industrial platforms that would enable the continent to move up the agricultural value chain.
“The AfDB is investing massively in the development of Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones across Africa, enabled with infrastructure to support the establishment of industries to process and add value across a wide range of agricultural products.
“The bank has committed over $934 million towards the development of the special agro-industrial processing zones.
“We have mobilised co-financing of $938 million from partners, including the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Islamic Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the West African Development Bank.
“We have also launched together with partners, the Alliance for Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones to accelerate the development of these zones across Africa, with $3 billion in commitments,’’ he said.
The AfDB president also said the development of special agro-industrial processing zones is ongoing at 27 sites in 11 African countries.
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