France supports Nigeria’s agricultural sector with €1.2m
The French Government has announced a grant agreement of 1.2 million euros for the development of a strategy for agriculture and food markets in Nigeria.
Nigeria was represented by the Federal Minister of Finance and the Federal Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) at the signing ceremony.
The French Ambassador to Nigeria, Emmanuelle Blatmann, and the Country Director of the French Development Agency (AFD) Xavier Muron were also present.
In a statement signed by Onyiye Madu, the press officer to the French Embassy in Abuja, said the agreement will contribute to structuring a food value chain and strengthen agri-food systems.
Three of the largest urban consumption areas in Nigeria: Lagos-Ibadan, Kano-Kaduna and Owerri-Port-Harcourt will be the areas of focus.
“The French government hopes that this will result in an inventory of existing agricultural markets, an in-depth analysis of current distribution channels and agrifood logistics, a legal and regulatory framework adapted to market development, and technical recommendations to rehabilitate or build three terminal markets,” Madu said.
“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.”
The 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 on-going “Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project” (RAAMP) (2020-2028) co-financed by AFD and WB for a total investment of 700 Million Euros including 296 Million Euros from AFD.
In Nigeria, agriculture accounts for 22% of GDP in 2020 and employs 70% of the formal and informal working population.
Nigeria is a major producer of roots and tubers (world’s leading producer of cassava, large producer of taro and yam), cereals (maize, rice, sorghum), cocoa and palm oil.
Its agriculture is characterized by small, low-productivity family farms, which practice low-mechanized subsistence rain-fed agriculture.
Eighty Percent of farmers are smallholders and provide a total of 90% of the country’s agricultural production.
Despite growing agricultural production, imports of agri-food products are increasing while 30 to 40% of crops are said to be lost on site due to lack of access to roads and markets.
