AFD grants Nigeria US$1.3 million to develop agricultural markets, Gabon contracts India to set up first high-productivity agricultural zone

AFRICA – French Development Agency (AFD) has granted Nigeria US$1.3 million for the implementation of a national agri-food market development program that will strengthen distribution chains, which remains an imperative for the continuous supply of food products in the country.

The program implementation will extend for one year from the first quarter of 2023 and is divided into two parts.

The first phase aims to focus on a study of the market ecosystem of all agricultural value chains, mainly in the three largest urban towns of the country, namely Lagos-Ibadan, Kano-Kaduna, and Owerri-Port Harcourt.

In the second phase, finding from the study will result in an inventory of existing agricultural markets, an in-depth analysis of current distribution channels and agri-food logistics, the implementation of a legal and regulatory framework adapted to the development of markets as well as recommendations for rehabilitating three central markets for products.

This initiative will build on the 10-year intervention of the World Bank and AFD in the rural development sector in Nigeria through the “Rural Access and Mobility Project” (RAMP) achieved in 2021, and the ongoing “Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project” (RAAMP) (2020-2028) co-financed by AFD and World Bank for a total investment of €700 million including $296 million from AFD.

The program will be implemented by the French company Semmaris with the support of the Federal Project Management Unit (FPMU) of the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) within the FMARD.

 Semmaris has been managing for over 50 years the largest wholesale fresh food market worldwide in Rungis, France.

The Rungis Market brings together over 1,200 companies from various segments of the food value chains, according to the press release.

Gabon contracts India in developing first high-productivity agricultural zone

Elsewhere, Gabon, a central African country rich in natural resources, forests, and minerals, is trying hard to reduce its dependence on oil production by boosting the agricultural sector, which contributes less than 5% to the GDP for the last 15 years.

The country has set up a project of 5 agricultural zones intended to lead it towards food self-sufficiency, but also the diversification of its economy. Gabon is reported to have more than 5 million hectares of cultivable land and a favorable tropical climate.

The country has partnered with India in the development of the first high-productivity agricultural zone in Andem at the start of the month.

Gabonese Prime Minister Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze said: “Gabon indeed wishes to gradually reduce its agricultural imports because today we depend almost exclusively on the import of foodstuffs which cost us between 450 and 500 billion FCFA each year.

“We, therefore, encourage the implementation of this policy and this signature which consisted in identifying agricultural areas with high productivity.”

Since 2014, Gabon has been laying the foundations for agricultural development through a project entitled, “Gabonese Agricultural Achievement and Engaged National Initiatives” (the GRAINE Project).

The Gabonese government funds the project through international loans provided by the African Development Bank and the World Bank.

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