The Federal Government said, on Thursday, that it was only waiting for the approval of National Assembly to begin implementation of the $1.2 billion in-kind loan from Brazil for its planned The Green Initiative.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, and his Agriculture counterpart, Sabo Nanono at a joint press conference in Abuja explained that the Green Initiative, which is a Nigeria-Brazil Bilateral Agriculture Development Programme is the government’s flagship programme to revolutionize agriculture in Nigeria.
Mohammed said Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo launched programme officially on 17 January 2019 and would 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).
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The programme will help to reactivate six motor assembly plants in the six geopolitical zones for assembling tractors and other implements by through importation of completely Knocked Down (CKD) parts of about 5,000 tractors and numerous implements (for local assembly) annually for a period of 10 years.
To be driven by the private sector, Green Initiative will also lead to the establishment of 142 agro-processing service centres for value addition, with one centre in each senatorial district.
Mohamed also said 632 mechanisation service centres would be set up to support primary production in the 774 local government areas and the Federal Capital Territory.
“This will create 774 service centres 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.
“The programme will create about five million jobs and inject over $10 billion into the economy within 10 years in addition to creating 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.”
Other benefits of the initiative according to the ministers include training about 100,000 extension workers within three years; impact over 35 million persons nutritionally and economically; revitalise research and extension service delivery through a 5-year technology-package transfer component; and transfer of technology from Brazil’s manufacturers and institutions to Nigeria.
Nanono explained that mechanisation service centres will be set up only in 632 local government areas as urban local governments have been excluded.
However, primary production areas will be established in all the 774 local councils.
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