The Federal Government and its development partners have intensified efforts to accelerate the implementation of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) Programme, a flagship initiative expected to create over 500,000 jobs, reduce post-harvest losses and transform Nigeria’s agricultural sector into a globally competitive agribusiness industry.
This was the focus of discussions at the SAPZ Programme Mid-Term Review Workshop held in Abuja, where government officials, development partners and stakeholders assessed progress made under the first phase of the project and outlined measures to fast-track implementation.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, described SAPZ as one of the most strategic interventions in Nigeria’s agricultural transformation agenda.
According to him, the programme aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on food security, economic diversification, industrialisation, rural development and job creation.
‘The objective is not merely to increase agricultural output, but to transform agriculture into a modern, competitive and wealth-creating sector capable of driving economic diversification, generating employment opportunities, enhancing food security and boosting export earnings,’ Ogunbiyi said.
He explained that the SAPZ initiative was designed to address long-standing challenges in Nigeria’s agricultural value chains, including weak market linkages, inadequate processing infrastructure, high post-harvest losses and limited value addition.
The programme seeks to establish integrated agro-industrial hubs that connect production, processing, storage, logistics and marketing systems within designated economic zones.
Ogunbiyi disclosed that the first phase of the programme is currently being implemented in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory, while preparations for the second phase are already underway.
He noted that the project is expected to generate about 500,000 direct and indirect jobs per project location and create approximately 2.5 million temporary jobs through infrastructure development and related services.
The Permanent Secretary further stated that SAPZ aims to improve crop yields from current levels of between five and 10 per cent to between 50 and 100 per cent, while reducing post-harvest losses from 45 per cent to 20 per cent.
He, however, acknowledged implementation challenges, including low disbursement rates, procurement bottlenecks, delays in approvals and slow infrastructure development across participating states.
‘We must critically examine areas where implementation has fallen below expectations, identify emerging risks and develop practical solutions to accelerate programme delivery,’ he said.
In a major boost for agribusiness and export development, Ogunbiyi revealed that more than 100 agribusiness companies and entrepreneurs recently received the SON/ARSO Quality Mark, while over 178 processed agricultural products were awarded African Quality Standard Certification.
According to him, the certification gives the beneficiaries direct access to markets across 54 African countries under the African Continental Free Trade Area framework.
In his presentation, the National Programme Coordinator of SAPZ, Dr Kabir Yusuf, explained that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and state governments, developed a five-year Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone Programme in seven participating states – Kano, Imo, Kaduna, Cross River, Kwara, Oyo and Ogun – and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the first phase.
He said the programme development objective is to support inclusive and sustainable agro-industrial development in Nigeria, aimed at diversifying the country’s economy through agriculture and reducing the food import bill.
‘SAPZ is a cross-cutting platform to attract private sector investment into value-added agro processing to unlock opportunities for improved food security, job creation, export earnings, rural poverty reduction and increased contribution of agriculture to national GDP,’ he noted.
He further noted that the proposed Phase II of the SAPZ Programme is structured in three parallel tranches to build on complementarities and lessons from Phase I.
He explained that Tranche 1 of the project focuses on 10 states based on quality feasibility studies, strong private sector developer interest and existing brownfields that will require minimal infrastructure and technical assistance.
‘The remaining states will be packaged into two additional tranches, subject to overall readiness and available country headroom. Good feasibility studies, evidence of private sector interest and environmental and social studies are critical criteria for additional investments,’ he said.
Also speaking, the representative of the IFAD Country Director in Nigeria, Isaac Mensah, said the programme had already recorded significant gains among smallholder farmers in participating states.
He disclosed that SAPZ interventions supported by IFAD had reached more than 17,000 smallholder farmers in Kano and Ogun states.
According to him, over 14,000 farmers have received climate information services to improve productivity and resilience, while more than 9,000 farmers have benefited from productivity-enhancing agricultural inputs.
Mensah added that the programme had successfully linked farmers with agro-industrial markets through the Multi-Stakeholder Agribusiness Forum.
He announced that IFAD had approved an additional $50 million investment for the programme, bringing its total commitment to $100 million.
‘IFAD sees SAPZ as an important platform to connect producers to markets, reduce post-harvest losses, stimulate private investment, create jobs and strengthen food systems in ways that are commercially viable and socially inclusive,’ he said.
On the part of the African Development Bank (AfDB), SAPZ Task Manager Dr Orison Amu described the programme as a transformative initiative aimed at boosting rural incomes, strengthening food security and driving sustainable agro-industrial development.
He explained that SAPZ was designed to cluster agro-processing industries around areas of high agricultural potential, enabling production, aggregation, processing and distribution within a modern infrastructure ecosystem.
According to Amu, the programme is expected to increase productivity, encourage import substitution, create jobs, reduce post-harvest losses and enhance value addition across Nigeria’s food systems.
He disclosed that although the programme was approved by AfDB in December 2021, implementation was delayed until March 2023, with the first disbursement conditions only fulfilled in August 2023. Despite the slow start, he said implementation accelerated significantly in 2025.
‘As of March 31, 2026, the commitment rate stood at 41 per cent, representing 86 million dollars, while disbursement reached 12 per cent, equivalent to $25 million,’ he said.
Amu projected that commitments would rise to 70 per cent and disbursement levels to 35 per cent by the end of 2026.
He also revealed that AfDB and its partners are developing Phase II of the programme, which is expected to attract additional investments capable of transforming Nigeria’s agro-industrial landscape and creating thousands of opportunities for young people and agripreneurs.