France and Nigeria have launched a new Agribusiness Club to scale investments, technical transfers, and trade in agriculture as both countries seek to position Nigeria as a regional food hub.
The club was announced at the inaugural France-Nigeria Agribusiness Dialogue series in Lagos by Laurent Favier, Consul General of France. “We decided to organise, to structure an organisation that we have decided to call France-Nigeria Agribusiness Club,” Favier said.
He added the club will be housed within the Franco-Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and will target more than 500 members from the industry, finance and government.
The launch comes as France commits new funding to African agriculture. Favier said France, with African partners, announced a €27 billion commitment under its FARM programme, with a €300 million facility dedicated to strengthening agricultural value chains across the continent.
“Nigeria has the potential of becoming one of the biggest hubs of agri-food,” he said, citing the African Continental Free Trade Area and access to “ over 1 billion consumers” as key drivers for the partnership.
