The Federal Government will, on July 15, unveil its $500m Niger Delta Agricultural Investment Fund, a commercially managed vehicle that it said would finance large-scale agricultural projects across the nine states of the region, with Vice President Kashim Shettima chairing its Board of Trustees.
It said the fund forms part of the maiden Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Summit, jointly organised by the Office of the Vice President and the Niger Delta Development Commission at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Addressing a joint press conference at the State House on Thursday, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, said the summit had received the President’s endorsement and would attract about 500 delegates, including agricultural investors, development finance institutions, regional stakeholders and partner institutions, with about 40 resource persons expected to participate.
Hadejia said the initiative reflected President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to the agricultural sector “across all parts of the country.”
He noted that the Niger Delta, though better known for hydrocarbons, “is also an agricultural treasure trove with significant comparative advantage in various cash and food crops, which have been relegated to the background despite the obvious capacity to contribute to national food security and agricultural export potential.”
