Nigeria - MIC Grant: Strenghtening of Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

The proposed support is aimed at strengthening the capacity of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) in the design and programming of investment operations, as well as its oversight functions vis-à-vis the implementation of ongoing operations and initiatives like the SCPZs. The proposal will also strengthen the SCPZ office, and will enhance the roll out of SCPZs across Nigeria, leading to employment, wealth creation and diversification of the economy. The strengthening of FMARD and the SCPZ coordination unit will ensure a more efficient design and programming of new investments programmes by the Government. The support will also directly support some feasibility studies which will inform the design of the second phase of the Bank supported ATASP1 program. The MIC grant will support FMARD in implementing ATASP-I, as well as directly support the Government by providing the necessary capacity in the design of the proposed ENABLE Youth Empowerment in Agribusiness Programme (YEAP) which is one of the Bank’s pipeline projects for approval in 2016.