Nigeria, Brazil seal $1.1b agriculture project deal

THE Federal Government is shopping for $1.1 billion to implement the Nigeria-Brazil Cooperation Project Agriculture “Green Imperative,” Finance Minister Hajia Zainab Ahmed, said yesterday.

She said at the inauguration of the project at the Old Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja. She said the chunk of facility will be provided by the Brazilian government.

According to her, the launch of the project was part of moves by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to reposition and diversify the economy in a sustainable way.

The loan, the minister said, will be provided in kind through the supply of agricultural machineries and implements in form of Completely Knocked Down (CKD) parts.

Hajia Ahmed said the project is designed to repay the loan facility through its proceeds, stressing that the repayment will not bring any fiscal burden on the tax payers.

The minister said: “The project we are launching today will be implemented with a total loan package of $1.1 billion majorly from the Brazilian Government which will be disbursed in four tranches over a period of two years.

“It is pertinent to state here that greater percentage of the loan will be provided in kind through the supply of agricultural machineries and implements in form of Completely Knocked Down (CKD) parts.

“This arrangement is expected to reduce fiduciary risks and create more employment opportunities for our teeming youth and those that will be involved in assembling the machineries and implements.

“Another important benefit of the project is that its implementation will be purely private sector led in all its operations including the assembling of the machineries/ implements, operation of the service centres and the agro-processing centres.”

She also said that the project will be implemented in phases across all the 774 local government areas.

The minister called on the private sector operators, youths and women to brace for business as participants would be selected on merit.

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“We will ensure that participation is devoid of politics and any form of nepotism,” she assured, explaining that the Buhari administration was not unaware of the desire of many Nigerians to obtain external loans.

Speaking on moves to diversify the economic before the Buhari government came on board, the minister said: “Even though, past efforts were made to diversify the economic base of the country, the external revenue inflows remained stubbornly monolithic, i.e. mainly from oil.

“It is in this regard that this administration sees it as a national emergency to explore every possible opportunity to grow the non-oil sector.

“Today, we are here to launch one of the products of the diversification initiatives of the Government, christened ‘Green lmperative’.

“Let me first of all congratulate His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari for his visionary leadership and approval given for this project. Permit me also to congratulate His Excellency, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof Yemi Osinbajo for his relentless commitment as the leader of the Economic Management Team, to this project right from its conception till date.”