The
African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved an African Development Fund
(ADF) loan of $ 152.12 million, about N24 billion and an ADF grant of $ 0.38
million, about N60 million, to finance Nigeria's Agricultural Transformation
Agenda (ATA) Support Programme Phase 1 (ATASP-1).
This
approval was made known in a report issued by the bank and sighted by NaijaAgroNet which
stated that ATASP-1 was to promote employment generation and shared wealth
creation along the commodity value chains, food and nutrition security and
sustainably increase the income of smallholder farmers and rural entrepreneurs
engaged in the production, processing, storage and marketing of the selected
commodity value chains.
According
to AfDB estimates, Nigeria has a huge
potential in agriculture with 84 million hectares of arable land, abundant
labour, untapped water resources and a market of 167 million people.
Reports
from the bank funded projects indicate
that ATASP-1 is mainly an infrastructure restoration intervention that will
rehabilitate 1,300 kms of irrigation water conveyance canals; 39,777 ha of
existing crop production schemes; 1,330 kms of feeder roads; 1,007 units of
hydraulic structures; 14 community markets; 35 primary schools; and 14
community health centres.
It will also
provide 63 potable water and sanitation systems and establish seven technology
demonstration centres in four Staple Crops Processing Zones in seven States
covering 194,426 km2 of land and 32,121,944 inhabitants (50.93 per cent males
and 49.07 per cent females) who are predominantly farmers and small scale
commodity processors.
NaijaAgroNet recorded that the program, to be implemented in five years is estimated
at $ 175 million ( about N27 billion) as
the Bank's financing will account for 87.0
per cent of the overall costs, federal government and seven States located in
the four Processing Zones will contribute 12.2 per cent, while the beneficiaries
will contribute 0.6 per cent of total program costs.
Anthony Nwakaegho/Remmy Nweke
NaijaAgroNet
... Linking agrobiz, people & technology
No comments:
Post a Comment
Share ur views here