Nigerians to get 400,000 jobs in agric zones to reduce youth unemployment
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Some 400,000 jobs are to be created in Nigeria by the African Development Bank (AfDB) through the establishment of Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs), which will help reduce the country’s 33.3 unemployment rate.
“It will impact some 1.5 million households as direct beneficiaries, with a target to create 400,000 direct jobs and up to 1.6 million indirect jobs,” AfDB Director General (Nigeria Country Department) Lamin Barrow said.
“The bank and other co-financiers – International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) – have approved $538 million to finance the first phase of the programme in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory.
“The programme will support Nigeria’s efforts to raise agricultural productivity, promote investments, create wealth and jobs, and transform the rural areas from being zones of misery into zones of economic prosperity.”
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Investment in agric hubs
Barrow spoke at the Agribusiness & Food Security Summit organised by Vanguard Newspapers in Lagos, reported by The Nation.
He said being government-enabled and private sector-led, Phase 1 of the SAPZ Programme will mobilise significant investments in agro-industrial hubs and agricultural transformation centres.
He added that AfDB is supporting Nigeria to implement bold policy measures to drive the transformation of agriculture and foster economic diversification through the development of SAPZs.
“The zones will be enabled with infrastructure and logistics to support private sector food and agri-business companies to process and add value to agricultural commodities close to the areas of production.”
World Bank says high jobless rate fuels Nigeria’s insecurity
Nigeria’s unemployment rate of 33.3 per cent is of great concern to the World Bank, saying it fuels insecurity North and South, which now prevents farmers from cultivating crops and stokes food price inflation.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also alerted that Nigeria’s economic growth is hindered by rising unemployment.
Jesmin Rahman, who led an IMF team that held a virtual meeting with the Nigerian authorities in June 2021, said even though the country’s economy is gradually recovering from the pandemic it is still hampered by a high jobless rate.