Nigeria: Government unveils 'The Green Imperative' program to create 5 million jobs

The Government of Nigeria has unveiled Thursday, 'The Green Imperative', a 10-year agricultural program worth 1.2 billion dollars and targeted at creating five million jobs and injecting 10 billion dollars into the economy, according to a news report by This Day.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and his counterpart at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Sabo Nanono, yesterday gave details about the scheme in a joint statement, they issued at a press conference in Abuja.

According to the ministers, the project is a Nigeria-Brazil bilateral agriculture development that will be implemented for over a period of five to 10 years.

According to the Ministers, the funding will come from the Development Bank of Brazil (BNDES) and Deutsche Bank, with insurance provided by Brazilian Guarantees and Fund Managements Agency (ABGF) and the Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Export Credit (ICIEC) of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and coordinated by Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV).

The Ministers said."The Buhari administration is set to revolutionize agriculture in Nigeria through a program called 'The Green Imperative, a Nigeria-Brazil Bilateral Agriculture Development Programme. It is the outcome of Nigeria's decision, dating back to June 6, 2016, to enroll in Brazil's Government-to-Government More Food International Programme (MFIP).

"Following that decision, and between June 2016 and December 2019, several high level ministerial and technical visits and exchanges have occurred between the two countries. During one of such visits, the Bilateral Protocol of Intention with the government of Brazil was signed in March 2017," they added.