The Chinese government and the Nigerian government, represented by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), are working together to forge a strategic partnership to strengthen Nigeria’s agricultural sector, according to the Permanent Secretary, FMARD, Sonny Echono.
Mr. Echono received H.D. Gu Xiaojie, the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, at the Ministry’s Headquarters in Abuja where they are discussing prospects for mutual cooperation. Mr. Echono thanked the Chinese government for past investments and added that China’s development model is well suited to Nigeria’s plan of agricultural transformation, which focuses on commercial agriculture.
Past Chinese investments in the country include a 2013 investment that supplied and installed 50 units of center pivot irrigation on 1,700 hectares of farmland in Nigeria’s Borno State. In September 2014, China’s Geo-Engineering Corporation International Ltd. decided to invest in 30,000 hectares of cassava farmland in the Republic of Congo to produce cassava to be shipped to China for processing into starch, and another Chinese firm announced its plans to build a cassava processing plant in southeast Nigeria. In August 2015, China’s Geo-Engineering Corporation announced plans to develop 9,000 hectares of farmland in Jigawa, and China’s Lee Group announced plans to expand sugar, molasses, and spice production in the country in the near future.
Nigeria is striving to increase its rice and cassava milling capacity to meet the current demand, and Mr. Echono noted that the country needs investment to support the establishment of ranches and its poultry sector.
Recognizing that both countries have large populations and markets, the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria stated that Beijing is seeking to work with Nigeria to establish areas of agricultural and agribusiness cooperation and suggested the creation of open platforms through which commercial farmers and tech companies can meet to discuss how they can best work together to meet the industry’s needs.