The Government of Nigeria represented by the Federal Minister of Finance (FMoF), the Federal Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), the French Ambassador to Nigeria, the Country Director of the French Development Agency (AFD) and the Director of International Relations of the French company, Semmaris have signed a grant agreement of €1.2 million for the development of a strategy for agriculture and food markets in Nigeria.
The AFD grant is set to finance a one-year technical assistance programme to assist the Federal Agriculture Ministry in the design of a national agrifood market development strategy.
This one-year study, which will run from Q1 2023 to Q1 2024, will also look at the whole value chains market ecosystem from rural to urban areas, with a particular focus on the three largest urban consumption areas in Nigeria namely: Lagos-Ibadan, Kano-Kaduna and Owerri-Port-Harcourt.
The study will result in an inventory of existing agricultural markets, an in-depth analysis of current distribution channels and agrifood logistics, a legal and regulatory framework adapted to market development, and technical recommendations to rehabilitate or build three terminal markets.
The programme will be implemented by the French company, Semmaris with the support of the Federal Project Management Unit (FPMU) of the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) within the FMARD. Semmaris has been managing for over 50 years the largest wholesale fresh food market worldwide in Rungis, France.
The Rungis Market brings together over 1,200 companies from various segments of the food value chains. This initiative will build on the 10-year intervention of the World Bank and AFD in the rural development sector in Nigeria through the “Rural Access and Mobility Project” (RAMP) achieved in 2021, and the on-going
“Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project” (RAAMP) (2020-2028) co-financed by AFD and WB for a total investment of EUR 700 M including EUR 296 M from AFD. These projects will contribute to reducing post-harvest losses through the rehabilitation of over 2,000km of all-season rural roads and the upgrading of 65 collection markets into agro-logistics hubs in 19 States across the country.In Nigeria, agriculture accounts for 22% of GDP in 2020 and employs 70% of the formal and informal working population.
Nigeria is a major producer of roots and tubers (world’s leading producer of cassava, large producer of taro and yam), cereals (maize, rice, sorghum), cocoa and palm oil. Its agriculture is characterized by small, low-productivity family farms, which practice low-mechanized subsistence rain-fed agriculture. 80% of farmers are smallholders and provide a total of 90% of the country’s agricultural production. Despite growing agricultural production, imports of agri-food products are increasing while 30 to 40% of crops are said to be lost on site due to lack of access to roads and markets.This study will contribute to structuring a food value chain and strengthen agri-food systems. It will help identify the terminal markets that should be rehabilitated or newly built in the outskirts of cities, linking up Nigeria’s major urban consumption areas to rural areas that are benefitting from AFD and World Bank’s past and on-going interventions. Wholesale markets will this way build upon the existing ring of improved infrastructures (rural roads, food markets) and good maintenance practices set up under the RAMP projects.
Against the backdrop of fast population growth and rapid urbanization, this study will help strengthen cities’ food supply.
About the French Development Agency: fostering international solidarity, France’s public development bank (AFD) contributes to the implementation of France’s development and international solidarity policy in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through financing of the public sector and NGOs, studies and research publications, training on sustainable development and awareness-raising in France, AFD is financing transitions towards a more resilient and equitable world.With our partners, we are building shared solutions with and for populations in developing and emerging countries.
Our teams work on more than 4,000 projects in over 115 countries.AFD has been present in Nigeria since 2008 financing over 40 development projects for a total of EUR 2.5 billion across various sectors providing funds and technical assistance.
Semmaris Opened in 1969, Rungis International Market is the largest wholesale fresh food market in the world with €10 bn and 3 Metric Tonnes of fresh food traded every year. Located 7 km south of Paris, Rungis International Market covers 234 ha and gathers more than 1 200 companies and 12 000 employees. In addition to fresh food wholesalers, the market has an ecosystem of companies amongst which import/export companies, pure logistic players, agro-processing industries, pack houses, etc. that enable the market to be a one-stop-shop for all the professionals of the food supply. SEMMARIS has been managing the market for 51 years. Its mission is to build, maintain, operate and promote Rungis market. SEMMARIS has gained a unique know-how in developing and managing wholesale market and international logistic hub and has supported more than 70 countries in the development of their own infrastructures.