By Roland Ike
A Special Agro Industry and Processing Zone preparatory mission has visited Ebonyi to asses its readiness to participate in the project’s second implementation phase.
The team consists of representatives from the Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Food Security, Finance, the African Development Bank among others.
Dr Chuma Ezedimma, ADB Chief Agro Industrial Economist and the Mission’s Team Lead said the project aims at promoting private sector investment in the agricultural value chain.
Ezedimma said that farmers would be supported to improve their livelihood, jobs created especially for youths and government providing areas to develop infrastructure.
“The project has two major components: provision of an agro industrial hub and agric transformation centres.
“The Agro Industrial Hub will support farmers with one-stock shops, licences, internet services, energy, water, roads among other amenities.
“The Agricultural Transformation Centres ((ATCs) will be located in production zones where major commodities are produced.
“The state government is expected to make seedlings, tractors fertilizers, among others available to farmers from one source.
“When we have three or four ATCs located in one production zone, it will be closer and easier to service farmers from there.”
He noted that the ATCs provide infrastructure for private input sellers to use such facilities in marketing their produce.
“This makes the whole process private sector driven from the production to the market level.”
Mr Maruf Adenifuja, Technical Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security said the project provides a platform for processors and producers to transact for job creation especially for youths and women.
“This leads to long term economic prosperity for states, enhances agricultural production, bridges agricultural production gaps, solve infrastructural problems among others.
“Ebonyi is one of the states where the infrastructure component is not starting from the zero point as it leads in that area in places visited,”.
Mrs Nkechinyere Iyioku, Ebonyi Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources noted that the state was ready for the project as the governor had provided the needed requirements for participation.
Iyioku said that the state was listed third among those which indicated interest in the project as the mission had visited areas of interest.
“We have concluded the feasibility studies, environmental impact assessment among as the team was in the state to assess all we presented to them on the project.”
The project is funded by the Federal Government in partnership with some development financing institutions such as the African Development Bank, Islamic Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Seven states including the Federal Capital Territory participated in the first phase as 27 states will participate in the second phase.
