Nigeria and Brazil have officially sealed the deal of the commercial phase of the $1.1 billion Green Imperative Project (GIP) 1, to boost food security and agricultural productivity in Nigeria.
The deal for the $1.1 billion GIP 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 Tinubu’s visit to that country last year.
Speaking at the ceremony in Abuja recently, Vice President Kashim Shettima, said the project aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s commitment to economic growth, policy continuity, and private-sector-driven agricultural development.
He said: “As this administration addresses the food security challenges we are facing and dovetails the 8-point agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, it is imperative for us to synergise and use existing initiatives such as the GIP for the purpose of policy continuity, for the purpose of utilising or leveraging on strategic opportunities to drive our economic growth and also to enhance investor confidence.
“We have been battling with low agricultural productivity for decades. As I have always said, entrepreneurial capitalism is embedded in the very psyche of the average Nigerian, but what our people are lacking is the wherewithal to be placed on the first ladder of development.”
“This GIP is a wonderful opportunity because it seamlessly aligns with all the policies and programmes of this government. It’s a private sector driven initiative that targets the small-scale farmer and links him up with all the agricultural value chains.
“Today, to me, is a highpoint of our leadership in this country. Yes, we have started seven years behind but the journey of a thousand miles 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”, he stated.
Carlos Garcete, Ambassador of Brazil to Nigeria, said it was a great honour for Brazil to associate with the GIP, saying, “Over the past seven years, there has been negotiation with the Nigerian government to obtain the necessary funds from private and regional development banks to finance this ambitious project, which is worth approximately $1.1billion.”
He added that the project would allow for the importation of agricultural equipment such as tractors, and spare parts and the assembling of machines would be done in Nigeria with Nigerian labour, stressing that “in the event of breakdown of any tractor, it will be possible to carry out any repair here in Nigeria by the personnel who will be trained by GIP.”
On behalf of the Brazilian government, Mr. Garcete thanked President 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.”
Also, the Governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, said Benue State, being the food basket of the nation, is the happiest state among the sub-nationals to witness the signing of the agreement.
Assuring that the government of the state will give full support to the success of the project, he said, “Benue State does not only hold the basket but 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 the South-South Cooperation between Nigeria and Brazil, adding that “the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs was in Nigeria last week where he had bilateral meeting with the Nigerian President.”
Also, Attorney General of the Federation Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, thanked the Vice President and all the stakeholders who made the event successful.
GIP, the largest agricultural project in Africa which priotises the development of sustainable, low-carbon agriculture, aims to develop structural conditions to boost food production in Nigeria in an efficient and competitive manner.
