STAGE SET FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GREATEST AGRIC REVOLUTION INNIGERIAN HISTORYBeing The Text of The Press Conference Addressed By The Hon. Ministerof Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in Abuja on Thursday,3 June 2020
Good afternoon gentlemen, and thank you for honouring our invitationonce again. While briefing you last Friday on the 1st anniversary,second term of the Buhari Administration, I hinted at the agriculturalrevolution that the Administration is about to embark upon, and I saidthat the Hon. Minister of Agriculture and I will be providing details.Well, we are here to do just that today.
2. The Buhari Administration is set to revolutionize agriculture inNigeria through a programme called ‘THE GREEN IMPERATIVE, aNigeria-Brazil Bilateral Agriculture Development Programme. It is theoutcome of Nigeria’s decision, dating back to 6 June 2016, to enrol inBrazil’s Government-to-Government More Food International Programme(MFIP). Following that decision, and between June 2016 and December2019, several high level Ministerial and technical visits andexchanges have occurred between the two countries. During one of suchvisits, the Bilateral Protocol of Intention with the Government ofBrazil was signed in March 2017.
3. Gentlemen, His Excellency the Vice President of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria launched THE GREEN IMPERATIVE programme officiallyon 17 January 2019 in the presence of the representatives of theFederative Republic of Brazil, Deutsche Bank as well as Brazilian andNigerian private sector. The Programme, worth US$1.2 billion, is to beimplemented over a period of 5-10 years with funding from theDevelopment Bank of Brazil (BNDES) and Deutsche Bank; with insuranceprovided by Brazilian Guarantees and Fund Managements Agency (ABGF)and the Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Export Credit (ICIEC) ofthe Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and coordinated by Getúlio VargasFoundation (FGV).
4. Now, how will this programme revolutionize agriculture inNigeria, you may ask. The GREEN IMPERATIVE programme will lead to thefollowing:
– Reactivation of six motor assembly plants in thesix-geopolitical zones of the country for assemblying tractors and other implements. The programme will import theCompletely Knocked Down (CKD) parts of about 5,000 tractors andnumerous implements (for local assembly) annually for a period of 10years.- Establishment of 142 agro processing service centres for valueaddition, with one centre in each Senatorial District.- Establishment of 632 mechanization service centres to supportprimary production in the 774 Local Government Areas and the FederalCapital Territory. This will create 774 service centers nationwide tomechanize our farming methods and process or add value to farm producelocally, leading to efficiency and eliminating post-harvest losses,thereby cutting down cost of food all year round- Private sector operators will operate and manage all the servicecentres and the assembly plants.- The programme will create about 5 million jobs and inject overUS$10 billion into the economy within 10 years.- It will create sustainable supply chain of agricultural rawmaterials for our large manufacturing companies to source locally,thereby saving billions of US Dollars in food-related forex- It will train about 100,000 extension workers within 3 years.- It will impact over 35 million persons nutritionally and economically,- It will revitalize our Research and Extension service deliverythrough a 5-year technology-package transfer component- The programme;s benefits also include the transfer of technologyfrom Brazil’s manufacturers and institutions to Nigeria
5. Gentlemen, let me now give you some highlights in the evolutionof the GREEN IMPERATIVE programme:
– The programme design was jointly done by Nigeria and Brazil. TheHonourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development set up aHigh-Level Inter-Ministerial Committee for the bilateral programmedesign.- In the course of the programme design, the Brazilian technicalmission visited Nigeria and met with rural small-holder farmers.- The Nigerian technical team also embarked on a study tour of threeAfrican countries (Ghana, Kenya and Senegal) where MFIP is beingimplemented to study their challenges as well as their successes orfailures- The Nigerian technical team has also visited the selected assemblyplants in the six geopolitical zones to determine in-country capacityto handle the assembly of a CKD-based programme of this magnitude.
6. Since 2015, the Buhari Administration has been working hard tobring about irreversible change in many sectors and to diversify theeconomy away from oil. The many unprecedented programmes embarked uponby the Administration have touched the power sector, where timelineshave been given for ending the age-long power supply problem; foodsecurity, especially production of rice, a national staple, throughthe Anchor Borrower’s Programme; the unique Social InterventionProgramme (SIP); the unprecedented infrastructural renewal projectcovering roads, bridges, rail, etc; the pepped-up fight againstcorruption; the innovative programmes to create jobs and theunrelenting fight against insecurity, among others.
7. The stage is now set for an agricultural revolution that willstrengthen food security, create massive jobs, transfer technology,revive or reinvigorate many assembly plants, strengthen the economy,save scarce resources, mechanize farming and lead to the emergence ofvalue-added agriculture, among other benefits.
8. The Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development willnow make some comments on this programme, after which we will takequestions. Please note that only questions related to THE GREENIMPERATIVE programme will be entertained
9. I thank you for your kind attention.
