AFEX has partnered with South-West Agriculture Company (SWAgCo), and the Ogun State Government for the development of five thousand hectares (5000 ha.) for the production of multi-crops in the South-West region of Nigeria.
The partnership was announced at an MoU signing ceremony at the deal room of the Feed Nigeria Summit 2021 with the focus crops for the partnership to include cassava, rice and maize.
According to the Commissioner of Agriculture for Ogun State, Dr. Adeola Odedina, the parties aim to create a Staple Crop Zone, a vital part of the Special Agro-Industrial Zone (SAPZ) for the state which is being developed in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Under the project, AFEX will deploy its exchange platform to both raise financing for the project and enable market access for the produce derived from the project, reports Vanguard.
AFEX Partners SWAgCo To Promote Production Of Staple Crops
“Our partnership with the Ogun State government and SWAgCo is integrating the private sector’s efficiency and innovation with the forward-thinking plans and agenda of the government of Ogun state in a way that will create jobs and enable wealth creation for the country.
“As a commodities exchange and capital market player, we are able to deploy a blended finance product that will drive production and industrialization within the state, and help to achieve the mandate of the SAPZ,” said Ayodeji Balogun, CEO, AFEX.
Although the project will be funded from both public, development as well as private and commercial sources, AFEX, as a commodities exchange, will be responsible for mitigating the project’s market risk by ensuring that the project’s output is guaranteed market access.
MD/CEO of SWAgCo, BabajideArowosafe, said, “We are working with an institution like AFEX that is able to structure the agricultural food system in the country in a commercial way that delivers value to different operators in the value chain.
“We have come into an alliance with AFEX to drive the SAPZ agenda in partnership with the Ogun State Government. We have a triplicate agreement – AFEX, SwagCo, and the Ogun State Government – to create the right platform for a seamless takeoff of the SAPZ agenda under commercial and private sector terms.”
The execution of the agreement will strengthen all levels of agricultural activities in Ogun State, and help in job creation and the achievement of food security for the country.
