The Federal Government has launched a 500-million-dollar Niger Delta Agricultural Investment Fund aimed at boosting food production, creating jobs and accelerating industrialisation across the Niger Delta region, Peak Newspaper reports.
Vice President Kashim Shettima unveiled the fund on Wednesday at the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Summit held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The summit, jointly organised by the Office of the Vice President and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), brought together the governors of the nine Niger Delta states, development partners, traditional rulers and private sector investors.
Speaking at the event, Shettima said the investment fund would support key agricultural value chains, including aquaculture, palm oil, cassava, cocoa, rice, horticulture, marine resources and livestock. He explained that the initiative would be coordinated through the newly established Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Council, which he will chair, with the NDDC serving as its secretariat.
The Vice President said the fund would also leverage financial commitments from development partners, including the World Bank, African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as well as private investors, to finance bankable agricultural projects across the region.
Shettima noted that President Bola Tinubu had made food security a top priority since declaring a state of emergency on food security in 2023, stressing that nations that cannot feed themselves risk compromising their future.
He urged state governments, investors and development partners to support the initiative, describing the summit as the beginning of a long-term commitment to transforming agriculture in the Niger Delta.
