Nigeria: FEC approves 1.2 billion dollars to finance mechanization of agriculture in the country

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) of Nigeria has approved a loan facility of 1.2 billion dollars to finance the mechanization of agriculture in the country, according to a news report by Premium Times.

Sabo Nanono, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, disclosed this on May 13 while briefing State House correspondents after the virtual FEC meeting anchored from the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The virtual meeting was presided by President Muhammadu Buhari. The online Federal Executive Council was in line with Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) protocol on physical distancing as Nigeria strives to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nanono did not provide details of the loan including its source and conditions. However, the finance minister and the debt management office had earlier said Nigeria would utilize more internal borrowings, rather than external borrowings, due to the impact of coronavirus on the global economy.

Nanono said, "Today, we presented a joint memo with the Federal Ministry of Finance in which we seek the approval for a loan facility of about 950 million Euros translated probably to 1.2 billion dollars."

"This loan is for the purpose of agricultural mechanization in this country -that will cover about 632 local governments plus 140 processing plants. This is going to be a major revolution in the agriculture sector, that we have never seen before," he added.