The Nigerian Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Brazil’s Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) to promote private sector development in fertilizer production, hybrid seed technology, and agricultural finance in 774 local government areas.
A statement from the Nigerian Presidency, signed by the Director of Information and Public Relations, Abiodun Oladunjoye said the agreement was facilitated through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS).
Mr. Temitope Fashedemi, Permanent Secretary of FMAFS, and Professor Carlos Ivan Simonsen Leal, President of FGV, signed the MoU at FGV’s headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the G20 Leaders Summit.
In fact, the agreement marks a new level of strategic cooperation between Nigeria and FGV, the primary implementer of the Green Imperative Project (GIP), one of the largest worldwide agricultural technology transfer programmes.
Conceived in 2018, the GIP is a $1.2 billion collaboration between Nigeria and Brazil aimed at modernizing Nigeria’s agricultural sector by leveraging Brazil’s expertise in tropical agriculture. Oladunjoye noted that, since its inception, both parties have held numerous discussions to refine the project’s design and implementation.
Supported by Deutsche Bank, the GIP aims to deliver transformative agricultural technologies and facilitate knowledge transfer over a 10-year period.
In the first five years, the initiative will focus on identifying and supporting agribusinesses across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas with technical and financial resources, fostering sustainable development and economic growth.
“This partnership paves the way for Brazil to engage with Nigeria’s dynamic and rapidly growing agricultural sector. Together with FGV, we are poised to unlock the potential of private sector investment in key areas critical to our food security,” Fashedemi said at the signing ceremony.
Under the MOU, private-sector projects on fertiliser production, hybrid seed technology and agricultural financing are projected to attract $4.3 billion in private-sector investment.
Senior members of Nigeria’s presidency, officials of FMAFS and FGV’s leadership attended the signing ceremony.
