Nigeria and Brazil have signed the commercial phase of the $1.1 billion Green Imperative Project (GIP), which aims to boost agriculture productivity and enhance private-sector investment in Nigeria as part of measures to ensure food security in the country.
GIP, the largest agricultural project in Africa that prioritises the development of sustainable, low-carbon agriculture, aims to create structural conditions to boost food production in Nigeria in an efficient and competitive manner.
The MoU for the GIP 1.1 billion 1 was signed in 2018, while the $4.3 billion phase 2 of the project and the $2.5 billion JBS were signed in Brazil during President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s visit to that country last year.
This is just as Vice President Kashim Shettima has described the signing of the commercial phase of GIP 1 as part of the ongoing efforts by President Tinubu’s administration to enhance food security in the country.
Speaking on Monday during the signing of the commercial phase of the GIP 1 at Presidential Villa, Abuja, Vice President Shettima, in a statement by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, said the GIP will leverage strategic opportunities to drive the nation’s economic growth and boost investor confidence.
He said, “As this administration addresses the food security challenges we are facing and dovetails President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 8-point agenda, it is imperative for us to synergise and use existing initiatives such as the GIP to ensure policy continuity, exploit strategic opportunities to drive our economic growth, and enhance investor confidence.”
VP Shettima noted that while the GIP aligns with all the policies and programmes of the Tinubu administration, it will link small-scale farmers with all the agricultural value chains in the country.
He noted, “We have been battling with low agricultural productivity for decades, and as I have always said, entrepreneurial capitalism is embedded in the very psyche of the average Nigerian, but what our people lack is the wherewithal to be placed on the first ladder of development.
“This GIP is an excellent opportunity because it seamlessly aligns with all the policies and programmes of this government. It’s a private sector-driven initiative that targets small-scale farmers and links them up with all the agricultural value chains.
“Today, to me, is a high point of our leadership in this country. Yes, we have started seven years behind but a thousand-mile journey begins with a step. 2025, as rightly captured by His Excellency, the Brazilian Ambassador to Nigeria, is a milestone year in our journey towards food security and diversification of our nation’s economy.”
The Vice President credited the success of the project to the Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and the Foreign Affairs Minister, among others.
In his remarks, the Ambassador of Brazil to Nigeria, Carlos Garcete, said it is a great honour for Brazil to associate with the Green Imperative Project (GIP). He said, “Over the past seven years, there has been negotiation with the Nigerian government with a view to obtaining the necessary funds from private and regional development banks to finance this ambitious project, which is worth approximately $1.1 billion dollars.”
He noted that the project will allow for the importation of agricultural equipment such as tractors, spare parts, and machine assembling in Nigeria with Nigerian labour, stressing that “in the event of breakdown of any tractor, it will be possible to carry out any repairs here in Nigeria by the personnel who will be trained by GIP.”
On behalf of the Brazilian government, Mr Garcete thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for bringing the long negotiation to a fruitful conclusion.
In his goodwill message, the Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Umar Namadi, expressed delight over the signing of the agreement noting that “for us at the sub-national level, it is a very important day for us because agriculture plays an important role in the economy of the country.”
He also noted that the signing of the agreement underscores the Tinubu Administration’s high-level commitment to improving and transforming Nigeria’s agriculture.
“This commitment, which is demonstrated from the highest level from the President to the Vice President, I think those of us at the subnational have nothing to do except to toe the line because this is our project,” he stated.
Also, in his remarks, the Governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, said Benue State, being the nation’s food basket,, is the happiest state among the subnational states to witness the signing of the agreement.
Assuring that the government of Benue State will fully support the project’s success, he said, “Benue State does not only hold the basket but also the food and its surpluses for the nation.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, who also witnessed the signing of the agreement, said the exercise is a good example of South-South Cooperation between Nigeria and Brazil, adding that “the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs was in Nigeria last week, where he had a bilateral meeting with the Nigerian President.”
He said both countries are very passionate about the project, having seen what Brazil has achieved and how it turned a barren savannah into one of the most prolific agricultural sites in the world today.
Also, the Attorney General of the Federation Minister of Justice, Hon. Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, thanked the Vice President and all the stakeholders who made the event successful.
