By Zarumi Mashood
The Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Monday restated the commitment of the administration to promote the livestock value chain through establishment of an agro industrial processing zone in the state.
The Governor was speaking in Ilorin, the state capital, when he received the delegation of the Bank, led by their operation head, Masuda Saidova, on a courtesy visit.
The project is being executed under the National Coordination Office for the Special Agricultural Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ).
AbdulRazaq, who expressed his reservation about the slow process by Islamic Development Bank (ISDB), said their visit now gave him confidence the project will soon come to fruition.
He described the agro industrial processing as an engine room of agriculture that can serve as a hub for livestock business when eventually sited in the state.
“I am happy to see the delegation of the Islamic Development Bank here. It’s been almost three and half years since we have been on this project. The journey has not been too smooth. I believe your visit today is a catalyst to make sure things move rapidly,” he said.
“There is a need for us to accelerate the hub. Once the hub gets going industrial looks good as investors will come here rapidly and share energy, infrastructure, water resources and intellectual properties, among others.
“What we are doing now in terms of the agro system cannot be scaled up unless we have this processing which is the engine room of agriculture.”
These industrial zones/parks are really the future of African growth in terms of increasing GDP, productivity and development of the agricultural sector, the Governor said, recalling his pleasant experience during his study visit to Eutopia.
State Commissioner for Livestock Development, Oloruntoyosi Thomas, in her welcome address, said the ISDB team has been in the state for the past one month on a supervision mission on the SAPZ project.
She said part of their mission was to assess the level of progress made, identify challenges and proffer solutions to them, and come up with a time bound action plan for the state.
Thomas commended Governor AbdulRazaq’s support to his Ministry and his administration’s commitment to the livestock transformation in the state.
National Coordinator for SAPZ programme, Dr. Kabir Yusuf, who was represented by Engr Maruf Ajenifuja, said they have developed strategies to ensure the completion of the industrial hub within the next one year.
“Based on the mission objectives and our activities since we started this project, it shows that SAPZ is on track, all the team now understand why they should be on their toes to fast-track this project and deliver in a record time,” he said.
Team lead for Islamic Development Bank, Saidova, said they are ready to do their best to speed up and make sure the project is delivered without further delay.
She said the objective of the project was to ensure sustainable value chains that will meet the national and international standards, praising AbdulRazaq for his government’s investments in the promotion of livestock in the state.
“As soon as the documents on assessment design are ready, I can assure you that IDB will do all their best to speed up the processes.
And I can say that within a month of being in Nigeria and the first time in Kwara, I see the huge potential here,” she said.
