In the 2021 budget, the federal government will seek to borrow $ 1.2 billion from Brazil to finance agricultural projects. The request for approval was also sent to the National Assembly.
The announcement was made by Finance, Budget and National Planning Minister Zainab Ahmed before a finance delegation in Abuja on Tuesday in support of the budget proposed by the ministry.
Ahmed said the federal government had sent a request to the National Assembly to approve a loan from the Brazilian government to address issues in the agricultural value chain in Nigeria.Ahmed said the federal government would take over one lakh hectares of land in each state for food production. He said link roads would be constructed in such areas to divert agricultural produce to markets and reduce crop losses to farmers.
Committee Chairman James Faleke asked the Finance Minister about the diversification of the economy.
We are before Parliament for taking loans to improve the industry. I request that the loan be approved, which we call the Green Imperative Program, which will take in $ 1.2 billion from the Brazilian government.
It is a program that addresses the agricultural value chain from automation, production, processing and sales. It is intended to provide loans to businesses for tractors and plants at all levels. ”
Zainab blamed Power Minister Sail Mamon for not capturing the 3,050 MW Mampilla power project in the 2021 budget.
The Finance Minister clarified that the Mammon project was not included in the plan submitted to the Ministry for the 2021 budget.
The finance minister told the committee that the executive would submit a supplementary budget to the National Assembly to give new salaries in the reform of the Nigerian police force.
Experts say the federal government is still interested in including all workers in the integrated payroll and personal information system, including members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, and is considering a university accountability and transparency solution proposed by university lecturers.
Giving updates on the implementation of the 2020 budget from January to September, Ahmed said, “By the end of 2020 Q3, FGN revenue for budget funding (excluding GOS) was 70 per cent of N2.83 tonnes.
FGN’s share of oil revenues was N1.20tn (representing 158 percent performance in the revised 2020 budget), while non-oil tax revenues were N927.47bn (76 percent of the revised target). ”