Vice President Kashim Shettima, yesterday, disclosed that the Nigerian government has mobilised over half a billion dollars to finance innovative food transformation initiatives in the country.
   
The funds were mobilised “through domestic resources, multilateral development banks, international financial institutions, climate funds, leading agro-businesses,” and would be utilised for “innovation finance for food system transformation; development of Nigeria’s agro value chain and special agro-industrial processing zones programmes.”
   
According to a Presidency statement, Shettima made the disclosure while chairing a high-level meeting on the first day of the UN Food Systems Summit declared open in Rome, Italy, by United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres.
   
Giving insight, the Vice President explained: “The government of Nigeria will be showcasing its Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) as a unique example of successful partnership among producers, the public sector and private operators.”
   
He further noted: “The VCDP, which is co-funded by International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), has empowered vulnerable farmers and youth to engage in commercial partnerships with some of the biggest food processing and marketing firms in the world, such as OLAM, a world leading agri-business company operating in over 60 countries, with a yearly revenue of about $39.8 billion.”
   
Stating the government’s vision about ending hunger, Shettima said: “The Federal Government is determined to capacitate Nigeria’s rural smallholders and operators, youth and women living below the poverty line, to take advantage of the new Special Processing Zones (SAPZ),” while building on the success of the VCDP. 
   
On the SAPZ, the Vice President said it “brings together local governments, IFAD, AfDB, IsDB, GCF, OLAM and other private actors, alongside the government of Nigeria, for transformative financing of food systems that leave no one behind.”
   
Featuring in a panel discussion with Prime Minister of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud; Deputy President of Kenya, Rigathi Gachagua; and Prime Minister of Niger Republic, Ouhoudou Mahamadou, the Vice President assured that the current administration “is determined to transform the concept and meaning of modern governance” by demonstrating commitment towards the food system in the country.