Nigeria, Brazil sign MoU to boost agribusiness across 774 LGAs
By Kunle Sanni
The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) of Brazil to advance private sector development in key agricultural areas, including fertilizer production, hybrid seed technology, and agricultural financing.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by Abiodun Oladunjoye, the Director of Information and Public Relations at the State House in Abuja, the MoU was signed on behalf of Nigeria by Temitope Fashedemi, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS).
The signing ceremony took place at the FGV headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the G20 Leaders’ Summit. Professor Carlos Ivan Simonsen Leal, the President of FGV, also participated in the event.
The agreement signifies a new phase of strategic collaboration between Nigeria and FGV, which is the lead implementer of the Green Imperative Project (GIP), one of the largest international agricultural technology transfer initiatives.
Conceived in 2018, the GIP is a $1.2 billion cooperative effort between Brazil and Nigeria aimed at modernizing Nigeria’s agricultural sector through Brazilian expertise in tropical agriculture. Since its conception, both parties have engaged in significant discussions to advance the project’s design and implementation.
Supported by Deutsche Bank, the GIP aims to deliver transformative agricultural technologies and knowledge transfer over its 10-year timeline.
In the next five years, the project will identify and support one agribusiness in each of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas, providing them with technical and financial resources to drive 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 during the signing ceremony.
Under the MoU, private-sector projects in fertilizer production, hybrid seed technology, and agricultural financing are expected to attract $4.3 billion in private investment.
Senior officials from Nigeria’s presidency, representatives of the FMAFS, and FGV’s leadership were also present at the ceremony.
