Niger State Governor Umaru Bago has begun talks with the German Agency for International Cooperation on the creation of free trade zones in the state to support value chain development in agriculture.
Modern agricultural value chains usually offer wage and self employment with better pay and working conditions than in traditional agriculture.
Agricultural markets are rapidly globalising, generating new consumption patterns and new production and distribution systems.
The Niger state governor Umaru Bago while meeting with the German development agency, acknowledged that local farmers have far been short-changed in getting value for their products due to poor value chain development .
The plan, he says, is to set up value chain cluster production points, in order to boost the productivity of farmers and increase their revenue.
Value chains are often controlled by multinational or national firms capturing a growing share of the agri-food systems in developing regions.
A collaboration with this organisation aims to empower farmers and continue the partnership with Niger state that has lasted over 2 decades in the areas of employment and private sector promotion.
Governor Bago also acknowledged the developmental strides of GIZ in different aspects of the nation.
He sought further collaboration with the development partner in the areas of ICT and Scholarship, to enable residents of the state develop their careers.
