Senate Approves €995m Loan for Green Imperative Agric Mech Programme

The Green Imperative Agricultural Mechanisation Programme is set to kick off following the Nigerian Senate’s approval of €995 million loan for the project.

The loan will be sourced from the Export-Import Bank of Brazil (BNDES) and Deutsche Bank of Germany and guaranteed by the Islamic Development Bank.

The Federal Government requested the National Assembly to approve the agricultural loan from Brazil.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, tendered the request when she appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Finance to defend her ministry’s 2021 budget.

The loan, according to the government, will fund 632 private-operated primary production mechanisation service centers and 142 agro-processing (value addition) service Centres across Nigeria’s 774 LGAs.

“It will also be used to revive 6 private-owned, partially-operational or moribund tractor assembly plants nationwide,” it said.

FG noted that the service centres will cover crop and livestock commodities of priority importance to food security and trade.

The Green Imperative programme will train 100,000 new extension workers, create about 5 million jobs, and positively impact over 35 million Nigerians in a 5-10 year period, according to FG.