Nigeria and Brazil sign MoU aimed at boosting agriculture on the sidelines of G20 summit

NIGERIA and Brazil have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the G20 leaders summit that recently took place in Rio de Janeiro committing both nations to collaboration in agriculture.

At the recent summit, Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) of Brazil, signed the MoU to advance private sector development in fertiliser production, hybrid seed technology and agricultural finance. It was signed by Temitope Fashedemi, the permanent secretary in the ministry and Professor Carlos Ivan Simonsen Leal, the FGV president.

Abiodun Oladunjoye, a spokesman for the Nigerian government, said: "Under the MoU, private-sector projects on fertiliser production, hybrid seed technology and agricultural financing are projected to attract $4.3bn in private-sector investment. Conceived in 2018, GIP is a $1.2bn cooperative effort between Brazil and Nigeria, designed to modernise Nigeria’s agricultural sector through Brazilian expertise in tropical agriculture.

“Since the MoU was conceived in 2018, both parties have engaged in many meaningful discussions to advance its design and implementation. The project, supported by Deutsche Bank, aims to deliver transformative agricultural technologies and knowledge transfer over its 10-year duration.”

In a statement titled, ‘Nigeria, Brazil signs MoU to boost agribusiness in 774 local government areas, Mr Oladunjoye said the agreement marks a new phase of strategic collaboration between Nigeria and Brazil. He added that FGV, the green imperative project lead implementer, is one of the largest international agricultural technology transfer initiatives.

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.