Nigeria is set to deepen agricultural ties with Brazil to enable the country learn from the agriculture sector in Brazil. The country also seeks to benefit from Brazils “MORE FOOD” programme in order to boost agricultural mechanisation in the country. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Mr. Audu Ogbeh stated this when he received the Brazilian Minister of External Relations Mr. Aloysio Nunes Ferreira in Abuja Nigeria’s capital.
Mr. Ogbeh explained how the Brazilian government transformed the country’s agriculture sector is a model to be emulated by other countries. He said Nigeria could use the support of Brazil especially in the areas of cattle breeding and mechanisation. Mr. Ogbeh further requested that Nigeria be included in Brazils “MORE FOOD” programme in order to boost agricultural mechanization.
“we will like to strengthen our demand and request that Nigeria be included on the list of beneficiaries from the MORE FOOD programme we have made our submission we are waiting for the response from Brazil… we do not have enough machines for agriculture here, we not have enough tractors, enough harvester and we do have enough machines for value addition so we really ask for Brazil to give us that kind of support on reasonable terms which we shall repay over a period”
On his part the Brazilian Minister of External Relations Mr. Aloysio Nunes Ferreira said the request is noted and Nigeria can present the country’s agriculture vision in line with the relationship and collaboration already established between the two countries.
Mr. Ferreira said agriculture is a very vibrant part of the Brazilian economy adding that the agricultural progress and achievement made in the Brazilian agriculture sector in the past 30 years is as a result of collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and the research institutes in Brazil.
“Within the last 30 years the fantastic advancement we have had in the agriculture sector was due to the collaboration between some research institute in the country” It is hoped that Nigeria could turn around its livestock sector and get more machines for mechanised farming with the support of the Brazilian Government.
