The Nigeria-Brazil Bilateral Agriculture Development Programme is a $1.2 billion “Green Imperative” joint Nigerian-Brazilian Agro-processing development scheme.
The Federal Government has announced that this scheme will fund the development of 142 agro-processing centres across the six geopolitical zones in the country. This Green Imperative Programme is aimed at deepening agricultural benefits in Nigeria.
Clearly, this is the outcome of Nigeria’s decision, dating back to 6 June 2016, to enroll in Brazil’s Government-to-Government More Food International Program (MFIP).
The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, and the Minister of Agriculture, Saba Nanono announced the implementation of the scheme. Lai Mohammed said, “The $1.2 billion programme is to be implemented over a period of 5-10 years with finding from the Development Bank of Brazil (BNDES) and Deutsche Bank with Insurance provided by Brazilian Guarantees, Funds Management Agency (FMA), Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Export Credit (ICIIEC) of the Islamic Development Bank (ISDB) and coordinated by the Getulio Vargas Foundation.”
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How Does The Agro-Processing Centres Affect Agropreneurs?
The Government aims to revolutionize the agricultural sector through the manufacturing of equipment by the Agro-processing centers. This equipment will be used for processing, drying, packaging, storage and marketing of agro commodities.
According to the Minister, the programme will create about 5 million jobs and inject over $10 billion into the economy. All these will happen within 10 years and the impact will reach 35 million persons nutritionally and economically.
The stage is now set for an agricultural revolution that will strengthen food security, create massive jobs, and strengthen the economy. Also, scarce resources will be saved, mechanized farming will be encouraged and it will lead to the emergence of value-added agriculture, among other benefits.
The Green Imperative programme launched by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo in 2018 was influenced by the More Food International Programme of the Brazilian Government to maximize the productivity of smallholder farms.
However, “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. Insurance will also be 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)”.
