Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, disclosed on Thursday that the Nigerian government has mobilized over half a billion dollars to finance innovative food transformation initiatives in the country. The disclosure was made while chairing a high-level meeting on the first day of the UN Food Systems Summit declared open in Rome, Italy, by United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.
Shettima stated that the funds were mobilized through domestic resources, multilateral development banks, international financial institutions, climate funds, and leading agro-businesses. They would be utilized for innovating finance for food system transformation, development of Nigeria’s agro value chain, and special agro-industrial processing zones programs.
Giving insights, the Vice President explained that the government of Nigeria will be showcasing its Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) as a unique example of successful partnership among producers, the public sector, and private operators.
He further noted that the VCDP, which is co-funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), has empowered vulnerable farmers and youths to engage in commercial partnerships with some of the biggest food processing and marketing firms in the world. These include OLAM, a world-leading agri-business company operating in over 60 countries, with a yearly revenue of about $39.8 billion.