Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President African Development Bank
(AfDB), made this statement on Monday, 5th of December 2016 in Abuja during the opening
of the African Economic Conference (ACE) organised by the bank in partnership
with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
He stated that the support is based on the
platform of the AfDB’s initiative 'Technology for African Agriculture
Transformation (TAAT)' as part of the efforts to design and encourage
technological innovation within the sector.
Highlights of his statement include
- the scheme is targeted at 40 million farmers in ten years.
- $24 billion would be used to support Nigeria’s agric
sector to fight hunger and post-harvest loses within a 20 year frame.
- the initiative would also reduce post-harvest losses.
He did however identify poor infrastructure and access to
finance as major challenges, stressing that it has became imperative to develop
the Staple Crops Processing Zones (SCPZ) to which he urged African nations to
invest in the SCPZ in order to create jobs and support private agro-allied
firms through incentives and infrastructure.
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