"Leapfrogging Anambra as an Industrial Hub"
Promoting innovative investments for a Greater Anambra
Have you heard of the Anambra Agroindustrial Plan? You will.
The Managing Director, Mark Okoye recently wrote a piece on Anambra State’s response to the increasing cost of food in Nigeria. You can read all about it below.
Also, check out our article on LinkedIn on improving economic growth at the subnational level and how this influences overall National development.
Before that, let’s give the update for the week.
ANSIPPA HOLDS FIRST GOVERNING COUNCIL MEETING IN Q2
The Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA) on Friday, April 28, 2023, had its second Governing Council meeting for the year. The meeting which was held virtually was led by the Chairman, Mustapha Chike-Obi.
At the meeting, the MD/CEO, Mark Okoye gave a report on the activities of Q1 and a progress report on the repositioning of the Agency into the Anambra Development and Investment Corporation (ADIC).
Over the next couple of weeks, the Executive Management intends to engage with the Governing Council Project and Finance sub-committees to finalize the forensic audit of past investments and conclude the operating model and recruitment plan for ADIC.
ANAMBRA STATE VISITS THE PROPOSED SITE FOR THE UMUNZE TOWNSHIP MARKET PROJECT
This week, the Anambra State Government through the Anambra Urban Regeneration Council (AURC) and ANSIPPA paid a visit to the Umunze market project site to assess the level of completion of the proposed market. In line with the promise of the Soludo-led administration to end street trading and build for-purpose markets across all towns and communities, there are plans to move the current market to the new site.
Upon arrival at the project site, the team was welcomed by the developer, Chief Ben Oranusi, Managing Director of Bills Limited, and his team. During the tour, the team observed that the built-up area of the market by Bills Limited had the capacity to contain the entire population of the current Nkwo Umunze with space for more traders. Already, the market infrastructures including, pipe borne water, drainages, and toilets have been put in place to a large extent.
This project is part of the Government’s effort to construct well-planned markets across the State.
UPDATES
ANAMBRA STATE ACQUIRES SITE FOR OGBOJI PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURING HUB
Last year, Anambra Insights reported the Government plans to develop a pharmaceutical manufacturing hub at Ogboji. This project is one of the industrial parks being developed by the State.
This week, the Agency met with the Special Adviser to the Governor on Medicals and Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Nnadozie Godwin to discuss the progress of the project. In the last few months, the State has successfully acquired 200 hectares for the project and commenced the feasibility study, business case analysis, and design for the construction of the project.
The team plans to showcase the project at the Anambra Investment Summit which would be held later this year. Prior to this, as a Pre-Summit event, the State will meet with the Organized Private Sector in the State, where this project among others will be presented.
FROM THE MANAGEMENT’S DESK
Anambra Agroindustrialisation Plan: The Key to Combating Food Insecurity
“It's not how much you make. It's how much you keep” - Robert Kiyosaki
This statement is no truer than in the food sector.
In 2019, while the world celebrated the decline in global hunger from 13% to 7%, Africa recorded an increase. As of 2021, we have one in five people battling hunger in Africa, compared to one in ten in Asia and Latin America.
While these figures are worrisome, our focus today is on Nigeria and Anambra State.
Since 2009, Nigeria's hunger curve has been on the rise due to increased insecurity. The recession of 2016 and the COVID-19 pandemic did not help in alleviating this growing concern. In 2021, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released a report showing that 58.5% of Nigerians were exposed to moderate or severe food insecurity.
Simply put, of the estimated 200 million Nigerians, 117 million are not consuming sufficient calories required to lead a healthy life.
Although Nigeria is steadily increasing its food supply, the hunger curve is yet to see a positive impact. This situation is explained by the report from Boston Consulting Group titled “Closing the Food Waste Gap”
The report shows that one-third of food output is lost post-harvest. By 2030, it is projected that 2.1 billion tons of food equivalent to $1.5 trillion will be lost or wasted. “…putting food waste in the top 7% of global economies, relative to GDP”.
Looking at the figures, it becomes clear that there is a necessity for a new approach toward food production, preservation, and eventual consumption.
Understanding this, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo even before winning the election and forming the current administration of Anambra State, proposed a policy shift towards improving the State’s food security.
With a laser focus on setting the stage for the fourth industrial revolution in Anambra, the administration now strongly encourages investment into agro-processing industries in what we now term the “Anambra Agroindustrialisation Plan”. The goal is to create an economic cluster for agricultural produce, focusing on driving the development of value-adding industries.
The State will also support cluster farming operations with the designation of land as farm estates. A bias will be placed on producing high-valued goods and endangered Igbo-specific products like Ukwa, Efi Igbo, Okuko Igbo, Ogili, Uda, etc.
This move has the dual benefit of increasing the amount of saved food as it improves the food transportation and preservation infrastructure. Also, it provides the State with increased revenue and reduces the impact of cyclical prices of commodities on the economic destiny of the State's agricultural sector. This is because processed food, which is the end goal of this plan, is less susceptible to movements in raw food commodity prices.
Already, the State has procured and distributed over 500,000 seedlings of Ukwa, Ogbono, Akilu, Guava, Coconut, and Palm fruit. The administration also attracted $20 Million credit from World Bank, for intervention in Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (L-PRES).
To further assist the effort of small-scale farmers, the State successfully concluded the mass distribution of free farm inputs to farmers through the FADAMA Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (FADAMA CARES) program.
As a Government, we are committed to improving the welfare of the people while fulfilling our promise to transform the State into a livable, prosperous, and smart megacity.
Mark Okoye
MD/CEO
ANSIPPA
Save the date!!!
ANSIPPA will be holding a public engagement session via our Twitter handle to discuss the repositioning of the Agency into the Anambra Development and Investment Corporation (ADIC).
If you have questions you would like us to discuss, kindly leave a comment, get in touch with us through our social media platforms, or email us at ansippa@anambrastate.gov.ng
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