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Published on
14.08.25
In a bold move to accelerate agricultural transformation in Nigeria, IITA Director General and CGIAR Regional Director for Africa, Dr Simeon Ehui, joined the Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, Honorable Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari – representing Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima, and the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, and other dignitaries at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Oyo State Agribusiness Industrial Hub – the first Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ) in Southwest Nigeria.
Held at Atan-Ijaiye, the event brought together prominent dignitaries, underscoring a shared national and regional commitment to leveraging agribusiness for food security, job creation, and sustainable economic growth.
The SAPZ program, spearheaded by the AfDB, aims to catalyze agricultural industrialization by developing agro-based hubs in rural areas. These zones are strategically designed to harness local agricultural strengths, close value chain gaps, and boost processing and value addition.
Governor Makinde described the hub as a game-changer for Oyo State and the nation. “These hubs are not standalone structures,” he emphasized. “They are deliberately designed as interconnected anchors of our agribusiness ecosystem. They bring producers closer to processors, and link farms to markets.”