Nigeria: Govt awaits $1.2bn loan approval to Implement Critical Agric Initiative

Dr. Andrew Kwasari, Senior Special Assistant to Agricultural President, said that the long awaited Green Imperative project was planned to be modernised and mechanised agriculture to be implemented.

The Federal Government’s key goal for stimulating the sector is the agricultural mechanism captured effectively in the $1.2 billion green imperative agreement recently signed between Nigéria and the Government of Brazil on the manufacture and deployment in the country of 10,000 tractors.

In Kwasari’s opinion, a loan is currently being sought by the Government, adding that President Muhammadu Buhari’s earlier borrowing request to legislators was initially withdrawn so as to allow for a change to the budget for 2020.

Speaking to Abuja reporters, the presidential assistant said the twin issue concerning agriculture modernisation, mechanisation and agro-processing will be resolved by the agreement. In addition, the project includes a €995 billion ($1.2 billion) loan incorporating the Federal Government with a financial framework to enable reciprocal negotiation of interest-rate funding below three per cent a year. This will be introduced in the FDI (Foreign Direct Investment).

The transaction also has a long gestation period of nearly $15 years to pay back. He said, however, that the funding was structured to reinsure the loan to eliminate the federal government’s payment burdens.

Data Source: This Day