The Federal Government of Nigeria, Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) of Brazil and Green Imperative Project (GIP) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance private sector development in fertilizer production, hybrid seed technology, and agricultural finance.
Abiodun Oladunjoye, the Director of Information & Public Relations, signed a statement from the Nigerian Presidency on Sunday, confirming that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS) signed the deal.
The statement also disclosed that the MoU was signed on behalf of the government by the Permanent Secretary of FMAFS, Mr Temitope Fashedemi, and the President of FGV, Professor Carlos Ivan Simonsen Leal, at FGV Headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit.
It noted that the agreement marks a new phase of strategic collaboration between Nigeria and FGV, the Green Imperative Project (GIP) lead implementer, one of the largest international agricultural technology transfer initiatives.
Conceived in 2018, Oladunjoye noted that the GIP is a 1.2-billion-dollar cooperative effort between Brazil and Nigeria, designed to modernize Nigeria’s agricultural sector through Brazilian expertise in tropical agriculture.
Since the MoU’s conception in 2018, both parties have engaged in numerous meaningful discussions to advance its design and implementation, he said.
The project, supported by Deutsche Bank, aims to deliver transformative agricultural technologies and knowledge transfer over its 10-year duration.
Over the next five years, the project will identify and support one agribusiness in Nigeria’s 774 local government areas with technical and financial resources, driving 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.
The MOU projects $4.3 billion in private-sector investment in fertilizer production, hybrid seed technology, and agricultural financing.
Senior members of Nigeria’s presidency, officials of FMAFS, and FGV’s leadership attended the signing ceremony.
