Nigeria Deploys One-Stop-Shop Framework to Streamline Agro-Industrial Processing Zones and Attract Investment
The Federal Government is implementing a pivotal one-stop-shop (OSS) framework aimed at dismantling regulatory fragmentation and accelerating investment in its Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs). This strategic initiative seeks to overcome persistent obstacles that have historically deterred investors and hampered the progress of Nigeria’s agricultural transformation agenda.
The SAPZ programme, a flagship initiative, has secured substantial financing commitments totalling approximately $536 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Islamic Development Bank. The current phase of implementation spans Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Ogun, Oyo, Cross River, and Imo states, along with the Federal Capital Territory, encompassing 37 local government areas and 116 communities. A second phase, with an additional $200 million approved, is already in motion, with consideration being given to including Gombe, Niger, Katsina, Kebbi, Plateau, Ekiti, Anambra, Delta, Enugu, and Borno states.
Speaking at a strategic roundtable on the OSS framework in Abuja, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, underscored the initiative’s fundamental nature, describing it as more than a mere administrative adjustment. She emphasised that the OSS must function as a scalable delivery mechanism, effectively leveraging technology and artificial intelligence, rather than simply establishing another bureaucratic office. Success, she stressed, will be measured by tangible outcomes such as operational enterprises, attracted private capital, job creation, and the integration of farmers into commercial value chains, rather than solely by funding pledges.
The Guardian Nigeria Business reported that the SAPZ programme, despite its approval by the AfDB in December 2021 with a $210 million loan, experienced a significant delay, with its effectiveness not commencing until October 2023, resulting in nearly two years lost before any activities could begin. This slow pace led the AfDB to rate the programme’s overall performance as “problematic,” citing unsatisfactory scores in its Implementation Progress and Results Report due to implementation delays and disbursement challenges. As of March 31, the commitment rate stood at 41 per cent, with disbursements reaching only 12 per cent, equivalent to $25 million of the total allocated funds. The AfDB also identified capacity deficiencies within state-level project implementation units and the national coordination office, noting their inability to meet the programme’s financial management, procurement, and safeguard requirements.
Minister for Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari, highlighted the structural realities confronting investors, noting that their pursuit now extends beyond market access to encompass the entire investment ecosystem. He posited that institutional efficiency, rather than infrastructure alone, would ultimately determine the programme’s success. Currently, agro-industrial investments in Nigeria necessitate navigating a complex web of federal agencies, state governments, public-private partnership frameworks, land administration systems, and varying state-specific tax regimes. The proposed OSS framework is designed to consolidate approvals, regulatory support, investment facilitation, and enterprise services into a single, predictable platform, intended to complement, not duplicate, existing structures.
Dr. Kabir Yusuf, National Programme Coordinator, who convened the roundtable to foster stakeholder alignment, articulated the broader economic rationale. He pointed to Nigeria’s significant role in the global cocoa industry, where it, alongside Ghana, Cameroon, and Côte d’Ivoire, supplies over 70 per cent of the world’s cocoa for a $148 billion market. However, farmers capture less than two per cent of this value due to the export of raw beans. The SAPZ zones are envisioned to bridge this gap by linking production to processing, infrastructure to enterprise, and local output to regional and global markets under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which offers access to a consumer base of approximately 1.3 billion people.
Furthermore, the government intends to integrate ongoing trade facilitation reforms, including the national single window project, into the SAPZ ecosystem to expedite documentation, customs clearance, and inter-agency coordination. Mr. Kyari affirmed Nigeria’s ambition to position itself as a preferred agro-industrial investment destination within the AfCFTA framework. The establishment of agro-industrial hubs and agricultural transformation centres under the programme is strategically aimed at creating investment destinations where production is intrinsically linked to processing, infrastructure development supports enterprise growth, and local opportunities are seamlessly connected with regional and global markets.
