The federal government has partnered the Government of Brazil on US$1.2 billion Green Imperative Program, aimed at deepening agriculture benefits in Nigeria.
The Nigeria-Brazil Bilateral Agriculture Development Program, as disclosed by the Minister
of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed is the outcome of Nigeria’s decision, dating back to 6 June 2016, to enrol in Brazil’s Government-to-Government More Food International Program (MFIP).
Mohammed addressing a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday said that the program aims to create about 5 million jobs and inject over US$10 billion into the economy within 10 years as well as create a sustainable supply chain of agricultural raw materials for our large manufacturing companies to source locally, thereby saving billions of US Dollars in food-related forex
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“The GREEN IMPERATIVE program will lead to the reactivation of six motor assembly plants in the six geopolitical zones of the country for assembling tractors and other implements, Completely Knocked Down (CKD) parts of about 5,000 tractors and numerous implements (for local assembly) will be imported annually for a period of 10 years”.
“Establishment of 142 agro-processing service centres for value addition, with one centre in each Senatorial District; Establishment of 632 mechanization service centres to support primary production in the 774 Local Government Areas and the Federal Capital Territory”.
“This will create 774 service centers nationwide to mechanize our farming methods and process or add value to farm produce locally, leading to efficiency and eliminating post-harvest losses, thereby cutting down cost of food all year round; Private sector operators will operate and manage all the service centres and the assembly plants”.
The Minister said that the stage is now set for an agricultural revolution that will strengthen food security, create massive jobs, transfer technology, revive or reinvigorate many assembly plants, strengthen the economy, save scarce resources, mechanize farming and lead to the emergence of value-added agriculture, among other benefits.
“The Program is to be implemented over a period of 5-10 years with funding from the Development Bank of Brazil (BNDES) and Deutsche Bank; with insurance provided by Brazilian Guarantees and Fund Managements Agency (ABGF) and the Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Export Credit (ICIEC) of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and coordinated by Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV)”.
