The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group have approved a loan of US $26.55 million to Togo to implement the second phase of the Agro-Food Processing Zone Project.

The aim is to provide the country with an industrial hub for processing agricultural products and establish a business zone to offer opportunities to young people and women in the Kara and Savanes regions, in the north and far north of the country, respectively.

The project, approved in Abidjan on 19 July 2024, will also help to attract a significant level of private investment into key agricultural sectors, such as rice, maize, soya, sesame, cashew nuts and broiler chickens.

The funds come from the Transition Support Facility, an African Development Bank Group mechanism aimed at countries in transition, and will support investments that encourage inclusive agricultural growth that creates jobs and reduces food imports into the small West African country located on the Atlantic Ocean.

"As well as consolidating the achievements of the first phase of the project, it was essential to support the structure of the Togo Agro-Food Processing Zone Project (Togo Agropole) with a second phase. This will focus on the construction and operationalization of the agro-industrial park (the central hub), including building a network of infrastructure (various roads and networks, administrative buildings, electrification, water and fibre optics) to create the right conditions for establishing private businesses," said Wilfrid Abiola, the African Development Bank's Country Manager in Togo.

Among others, the project will support the creation and operationalization of the company that will manage the agro-park and the construction of an agro-industrial park in Broukou (in Doufelgou prefecture, in the north of the country) by opening roads, developing electricity and street lighting networks, and building an administrative, financial, civil protection and access control centre.

The project will also fund the purchase of small agricultural equipment for vegetable-growing plots, particularly for women. The plan is also to build the capacity of agricultural producers, including women, in production, processing, storage and marketing to help them find markets and sell agricultural products.