President of the African Development Bank(AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has disclosed that Kaduna State is leading the way as the first to launch the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ) in Nigeria.

Speaking when he paid a courtesy call at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House on Tuesday, Dr. Adesina praised Governor Uba Sani’s commitment to agricultural transformation.

The AfDB President cited the Kaduna State’s remarkable budgetary increase for agriculture, from N1.4 billion to N74 billion, adding that the increase is an example of political will backed by substantial investment.

According to him, “You didn’t just put your money where your mouth is—you put your money where your mind and your body are,” Adesina remarked, drawing applause from stakeholders and dignitaries present. 

According to him, ”Kaduna’s leadership on this project reflects not just a vision for food security, but a roadmap for economic prosperity and inclusive development.”

Dr Adesina further described Kaduna as a trailblazer, noting that , “you are the first state to launch the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone in Nigeria. This is a great day for us all.”

The AfDB President also commended the state’s hospitality, adding that “not only did we get hospitality here in Kaduna, I think we got maternity too—because your Deputy Governor is a medical doctor”

Dr. Adesina emphasized the AfDB’s commitment to supporting Kaduna State in expanding school feeding programs and integrating them with the new processing zones. 

He pledged additional support for primary health care improvements, health insurance, and infrastructure, including water, sanitation, and digitalization.

The AfDB President added that “we’re proud to partner with a government that listens, that leads with compassion, and that is open to all.” 

The AfDB President described Governor Uba Sani as “a model leader—he’s a listener, a unifier, and above all, a doer.”

In his remarks, Governor Uba Sani described Dr. Adesina as “a blessing to Nigeria, Africa, and humanity,” just as he applauded the AfDB President’s transformative work in agriculture across the continent.

Governor Uba Sani further said Dr. Akinwumi’s initiative, when he was Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture years back, has benefited more than 15 million smallholder farmers across Nigeria, mostly in Northern Nigeria, through his E-wallet initiative.

The initiative aimed not only to transform agriculture but could have also addressed the problem of financial exclusion we are facing today, as it could have provided access to financial credit for our smallholder farmers.

“It could have also addressed the problem of insecurity we are facing in Northern Nigeria. In Kaduna, agriculture contributes about 42 percent of our GDP and accounts for about 60 percent of employment in the state. This is why we believe insecurity has hindered much of the development we could have achieved through agriculture.

“Because we believe it is one of the most important sectors to invest in, part of what we did was to increase the agricultural budget from N1.4 billion, which we inherited in 2023, to N74 billion in the current budget.

“By doing that, we became the first sub-national government to achieve the 10 percent target of the 2014 Malabo Declaration, which set the goal of allocating 10 percent of the budget to agriculture,” he said.

The governor described the launch of the Agro-Industrial Processing Zone as a very important project for Kaduna State.

Governor Sani also commended Dr Adesina for his efforts in transforming agriculture in Nigeria and across Africa.