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5th Agribusiness Roundtable International Conference proposes a $250 million multi-partner financing facility to drive agro-industrial development.
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Uyo Declaration 2026–2035 will establish a Southern Agricultural Industrial Corridor and a permanent secretariat in Akwa Ibom.
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Conference targets local processing, export expansion, improved agricultural financing and food security across Africa.
November 4, (THEWILL) – Akwa Ibom State is targeting a $250 million multi-partner financing facility to accelerate agro-industrial development, expand agricultural exports and establish a Southern Agricultural Industrial Corridor under a proposed 10-year development compact.
The South-South Zonal Coordinator of the Nigeria Agribusiness and Agro-Industry Development Initiative (NAADI), Dr Howard Usen, disclosed this in his welcome address at the opening ceremony of the 5th Agribusiness Roundtable International Conference (AGRIC 2026), at Watbridge Hotels & Suites, Uyo.
The four-day international conference, themed “Accelerating Agribusiness Transformation: Unlocking Value Chains to Achieve Food Security, Nutrition Sustainability, Job Creation, Poverty Alleviation and National Prosperity,” brought together stakeholders to explore investment, processing, financing and export opportunities in the agricultural sector.
He said the declaration would establish the Southern Agricultural Industrial Corridor, institutionalise collaboration between state governments on land and infrastructure development, and create a permanent secretariat in Uyo to coordinate implementation.
Usen identified local processing, access to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) market, affordable long-term financing and improved export quality standards as four critical pillars for transforming the agricultural sector.
He lamented that African countries spend more than $75 billion annually importing primary food commodities despite the continent’s vast agricultural resources, while between 40 and 50 per cent of locally produced food is lost after harvest because of inadequate roads, processing facilities and cold-chain infrastructure.
According to him, Africa must move away from exporting raw agricultural commodities such as cocoa, cassava, cashew and palm oil only to import finished products derived from the same resources at significantly higher costs.
He said the conference would promote processing facilities close to farms, particularly for cassava, oil palm, cocoa and rubber, to reduce post-harvest losses, retain economic value locally and create employment.
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Usen also called for stronger agricultural financing through blended finance arrangements involving institutions such as the World Bank, African Development Bank, International Finance Corporation and Afreximbank, arguing that conventional commercial lending terms were unsuitable for long-term agricultural investments.
He added that the initiative would prioritise smallholder farmers, women-led enterprises and young entrepreneurs through improved access to processing facilities, credit, technology and guaranteed markets, while advocating internationally accredited testing laboratories and export-grade packaging to improve the competitiveness of African agricultural products.
He commended Governor Umo Eno for placing agricultural development at the centre of the ARISE Agenda, particularly through investments in rural infrastructure, agricultural demonstration centres and initiatives aimed at improving food production, describing Akwa Ibom as strategically positioned to attract investment and participate in regional agricultural trade.
