BBC Pidgin of Friday, 23 April 2021

Source: BBC

Wetin dis Green Imperative programme be and how e go benefit pipo?

Green Imperative na avenue for Nigeria goment to collect loan money for agric project Green Imperative na avenue for Nigeria goment to collect loan money for agric project

Road don clear for di Nigerian goment to collect €995m ($1.2bn) loan money for wetin dem call di Green Imperative.

But wetin dis programme be and how e go benefit pipo?

Dis clearance dey come after lawmakers for Nigeria bin approve on 21 April, make di president borrow dis big money from two foreign banks - Export-Import Bank of Brazil and Deutsche Bank of Germany.

"Di most important agricultural project wey any administration don ever do", na so di minister of agriculture and rural development, Alhaji Muhammad Sabo Nanono take describe Di Green Imperative earlier dis year.

Plenty tok-tok don comot recently about how Nigeria too dey do borrow-borrow, and how na di economy (and everyday pipo) e go affect in di long term. Dis fresh €995m loan go give di critics even more to use lambast di goment.

But di goment beat chest say dis agricultural programme go bring plenty benefits to millions of Nigerians.

Make we torchlight wetin di goment tok say Green Imperative be and wetin e go do:

  • Di programme go focus on mechanized agriculture for food like rice, cassava, cocoa, wheat, soya beans, maize, sugar cane and tomatoes


  • Training of 100,000 pipo


  • 10,000 units of tractors and 50,000 units of assorted machines go dey available


  • Although di parts of dis equipment go come from abroad, efritin go dey assembled for Nigeria


  • Setup of 774 service centres inside every local goment area for di kontri


  • Di service centres na to support di local farmers around that community


  • 142 agro processing service centres and 632 mechanization service centres go also dey


  • Na di private sector go run di 10-year programme, goment go just provide support


  • About di €995m loan

    Di secretary to di committee wey di torchlight di Green Imperative, Abdullahi Abubakar bin reveal for Jaunary say di Nigerian goment collect di loan money with interest of 3%.

    Di duration period na seven years for Deutsche Bank and fifteen years for Export-Import Bank of Brazil. Insurance go come from Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank.

    Dis big money loan go add to di debt of di kontri and affect di value of di Nigerian Naira, something wey di International Monetary Fund (IMF) go dey monitor well-well.

    Current World Trade Organisation director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala - wey be Nigerian hersef - don always push for di kontri to reduce dia foreign debt.

    In fact, one of her achievement for as former finance minister, na how she epp Nigeria to get $18bn debt write-off for 2005.

    According to Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, di kontri total public debt reach $86.5bn for end of 2020.