The Federal Government is engaging with the private sector to respond to Saudi Arabia’s demand for Alfalfa hay, red meat, and soybean meal, worth over US$2.2 billion annually as the Saudi Arabia economy is currently witnessing significant reforms, and food and feed security are at the heart of the reforms.
The Nigerian Government is therefore implementing a Made in Nigeria for Export (MINEx) initiative which is an ambitious agri-products export expansion Public and Private Partnership (PPP) project led by the Commodities Development Initiative (CDI) in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Federation of Agriculture Commodity Associations of Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment and other MDAs.
Specifically, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, during a strategic session led by him, enjoined the private sector to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the Saudi market to improve our production standards for red meat and fodder products.
Kyari said that the business plan started when President Bola Tinubu invited the Saudis to come to Nigeria to buy and invest at a Saudi Arabia – Nigeria Business Roundtable held in Riyadh on the sidelines of the Saudi Arabia- Africa Forum in November 2023.
The Saudis responded when a high-level delegation led by H.E. Abdulrahman Alfaldy, Minister for Environment, Water and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, visited Nigeria on 9th May 2024, and the delegation had an interactive engagement with agribusiness stakeholders in Abuja.
On his part, the CDI’s founder and Managing Director, Mr. Roland Oroh said MINEx would generate foreign exchange, create youth employment and increase incomes for Nigerian SMEs in the relevant supply chains at the strategy session which had investors in the red meat and fodder supply chains and government departments and agencies in attendance.
Two groups were established at the end of the session: ‘the Nigeria Red Meat Partnership’ and ‘the Nigerian Fodder Partnership’.
The production volume and export sales targets for the 2025 trading year for each group were established, and further engagements will be held in the coming days and weeks.
Meanwhile, profiling is ongoing to identify other actors and new investors not already identified.