Nigeria has secured a $33m investment partnership to establish 10,000 climate-smart greenhouses nationwide, beginning with a pilot scheme involving 1,000 units in Kano State.
The initiative is aimed at protecting farmers against climate-related threats, improving food production and connecting smallholder farmers to industrial buyers.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the ongoing 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Turkey, by the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones programme, the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) and Turkey-based agricultural technology company, Direkçi Group.
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The signing ceremony was witnessed by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari; his Turkish counterpart, Ibrahim Yumaklı; and a former Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Mehdi Eker.
The project will commence with a $3m investment in Kano, comprising 1,000 greenhouse units. Direkçi Group will provide $1.5m in foreign direct investment, while the Bank of Agriculture will contribute a matching $1.5m credit facility for participating farmers.
Each greenhouse in the pilot phase will cover approximately 240 square metres and support the controlled cultivation of crops, particularly tomatoes and peppers.
Under the arrangement, Direkçi Group will manufacture and install the facilities, train farmers and help them secure markets, including tomato processing factories and other industrial buyers.
The Bank of Agriculture will administer loans under a 36-month repayment arrangement, with an initial four-month moratorium to give farmers time to establish their crops and generate income before repayments begin.
The SAPZ programme will provide land, basic infrastructure, seeds and seedlings, while mobilising farmers and coordinating the project's expansion across the country.
Women and smallholder farmers are among the initiative's priority beneficiaries.
The partnership comes amid growing concerns over the impact of climate change on Nigerian agriculture, with flooding, drought, extreme temperatures and unpredictable rainfall increasingly threatening farming activities.
The greenhouse technology is expected to help farmers regulate temperature and water supply, reduce exposure to extreme weather conditions and improve the consistency and quality of agricultural produce.
Beyond boosting production, the agreement includes technology transfer in climate control, precision irrigation and modern crop management.
The partners are also banking on an off-take arrangement that will connect participating farmers with industrial buyers through agreed quality standards, prices and delivery conditions.
The arrangement is expected to provide farmers with more predictable markets while ensuring food processors have a reliable supply of agricultural produce.
The initiative is also projected to create jobs in greenhouse construction, farming, transportation, processing and marketing.
Following the Kano pilot, the programme is expected to expand to 10,000 farmers nationwide, bringing the projected investment to $33m.
The partnership adopts a government-enabled, private-sector-led model, with public institutions providing infrastructure and credit support while the private sector supplies investment, technology and market connections.
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