1.0 BACKGROUND
The Federal Government of Nigeria has received a facility from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to finance the cost of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones Program (SAPZ). It intends to apply part of the proceeds towards carrying out various consultancy services. The SAPZ Program is being implemented in the seven (7) States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The States are Cross River, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Ogun, and Oyo.
The overall development objective of the SAPZ program is twofold: (1) Support the development of SAPZ in high food production areas to supply the domestic food market and create exportable surpluses; and (2) Capacitate smallholder farmers, small agro-processors, and traders, and community-based service providers, including women and youth; to take advantage of the market demand created by the SAPZ to sustainably enhance their income, household food security and resilience to climate change.
The program has four components, namely:
➢Component 1: Infrastructure Development and Management for Agro-Industrial Hubs (AIHs). Under this AfDB-led component, the program will support the FGN in developing and setting up SAPZs in high-potential states.
➢Component 2: Agricultural Productivity, Production, Market Linkages, and Value Addition in SAPZ Catchment Areas. Under this component, SAPZ’s objective is threefold: (i) support smallholder farmers and small operators to increase their productivity/production and capacity to add value to raw materials on a profitable and environmentally sustainable basis; and (ii) link them to the additional market outlets offered by the Agro-Industrial Hubs (AIHs), off-takers supplying the local and national market who operate in the target area, and small processors/traders supplying the local markets, including primary processors operating in the Agricultural Transformation Centres (ATCs); iii) enhance the resilience and adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers to climate change..
➢Component 3: Policy and Institutional Development Support. The objective of component 3 is to support the development of enabling policies, legislation, and regulation for SAPZs in Nigeria to create a conducive business environment for private sector investment and to address inefficiencies and market failures in agricultural value chains.
➢Component 4: Program Coordination and Management. This component will ensure that the program is efficiently and effectively managed to achieve expected results.
Agricultural practices influence many important functions and processes of the ecosystem in a variety of ways. They transform matured ecosystems into managed state ecosystems to develop better land and soil texture for agricultural processes. The development of Good Agronomic Practices (GAPs) is essential for improving the productivity, sustainability, and profitability of agricultural value chains. The manual will aim to enhance the quality and efficiency of production, improve sustainability, and ensure compliance with environmental and food safety standards.
2.0 Objective
The primary objective is to develop a detailed and user-friendly manual that outlines Good Agronomic Practices (GAPs) for cassava and rice.
Implementation of training in each community involved in Good Agronomic practices
The manual will be tailored to the specific needs of farmers and value chain actors, providing clear instructions, practical tips, and relevant information to improve crop production and management.
Kindly download the attached document below for more details.