SAPZ Kano extends awareness campaign to eight more LGAs

The Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones programme in Kano State has commenced a community engagement and awareness campaign across eight additional catchment areas to educate farmers, traders, women and youths on opportunities under the initiative.

This was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Knowledge Management and Communication Officer of the SAPZ Kano Programme, Hajiya Rabi Mustafa Sadiq, a copy of which was made available to The PUNCH.

According to the statement, the campaign targets smallholder farmers, agro-processors, traders, and community-based service providers in the Dawakin Kudu, Kumbotso, Tofa, Gwarzo, Madobi, Shanono, Minjibir, and Gabasawa Local Government Areas.

The statement explained that the Federal Government, in partnership with the African Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Islamic Development Bank, participating state governments, and private investors, is implementing the programme in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The participating states are Kano, Imo, Kaduna, Cross River, Kwara, Oyo and Ogun.

It described SAPZ as a comprehensive agro-industrialisation initiative designed to attract private-sector investment into value-added agricultural processing, improve food security, create jobs, reduce rural poverty, and increase agriculture’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product.

“The overall programme development objective is to support the development of SAPZ in high food production areas to supply the domestic food market and create exportable surpluses,” the statement said.

It added that the programme would also empower smallholder farmers, processors, traders, women and youths to take advantage of new market opportunities created under the initiative.

According to the statement, SAPZ Phase I is expected to directly benefit at least 1.5 million households nationwide, with women accounting for 50 per cent of direct beneficiaries and youths aged 18 to 29 making up 40 per cent.

It stated that in Kano and Ogun states alone, about 75,000 direct beneficiaries are expected, comprising mainly farmers, processors, traders and service providers.

The statement further revealed that SAPZ Kano successfully profiled 15,463 smallholder farmers in 2025 across eight LGAs, including Kura, Garun Mallam, Bebeji, Bichi, Bagwai, Gezawa and Danbatta.

It added that over 12,000 farmers had also received climate-smart agribusiness inputs for rice, tomato and groundnut production during both wet and dry seasons under the matching grant scheme.

Under the arrangement, female farmers contributed 20 per cent of the package cost, while the programme funded 80 per cent; male farmers contributed 30 per cent, with SAPZ providing 70 per cent; and youths contributed 25 per cent, with the programme covering the remaining 75 per cent.

The statement said SAPZ Kano had also established a Multi-Stakeholder Agribusiness Forum to strengthen collaboration among farmers, processors, financial institutions, and government agencies to improve value chain integration.

“The main purpose of this sensitisation is to inform and educate target audiences about the SAPZ programme in Kano State, its priority value chains, catchment areas, aims and objectives, while encouraging participation in decision-making processes,” it added.

The programme’s catchment areas in Kano include Bebeji, Bagwai, Kura, Gezawa, Garun Mallam, Bichi, Danbatta, Dawakin Kudu, Kumbotso, Tofa, Gwarzo, Madobi, Shanono, Minjibir, Dawakin Tofa and Gabasawa Local Government Areas.