Ogun most suitable for agricultural processing zone, say AfDB, IFAD

Ogun State has been described as the most suitable place for the African Development Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development (AfDB/IFAD) Special Agricultural-Processing Zone (SAPZ) programme.

Co-ordinators of both bodies stated this during a visit to the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, in Abeokuta, yesterday.

The team from AfDB and IFAD, led by Dr. Chuma Ezedinma, came on a pre-appraisal mission for the development of SAPZ.

In his remark, the Country Director, IFAD, Dr. Patrick Habamenshi, said Nigeria, as a country, could achieve greatness through agriculture.

Habamenshi urged the governor to support the team with the necessary logistics required for the successful implementation of the project.

Abiodun said the state had good potentials in road networks, power plant, rail, deep sea-port, gas pipeline,s and dams, among other factors, to promote industrialisation.

He added that with the current level of infrastructure, coupled with the concentration of agro-investors and nearness to raw materials and large market, Ogun is naturally a SAPZ location and suitable for innovation and case study.

“There is a level of coordination, aggregation and agro-transformation going on in the state, which will transform life, commerce and well-being of people in Ogun State, Nigeria, Africa and the world at large,” he said.

Abiodun added with the earmarking of 20,000 hectares of land, including advance level brownfield activities, the state has taken the AfDB SAPZ initiative to a higher level, emphasising that the commencement of the cargo airport, whose first phase would be delivered in 2022, would complement export opportunities and nationwide supplies.

According to him, the state was happy to be chosen as one of the benefitting states in the country, saying the project was in line with the administration’s economic agenda.

He expressed delight at the progress made by the state in the Federal Government /International Fund for Agricultural Development’s Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), whereby 13,000 people had been linked to the credit market and jobs, as well as benefits of infrastructure, markets, roads, land clearing, and others.