India will share expertise to make Nigeria self-sufficient in agriculture

New Delhi, Decemebr 13: To boost Agricultural productivity of Nigeria, India has decided to share their Agricultural expertise to make Nigeria food sufficient. Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said that India has noted with great interest the new initiatives of Nigeria, particularly the Green Alternative initiative-a roadmap to make Nigeria self-sufficient in agriculture.

Singh said India will be only too happy to share its experience and expertise in any area of agriculture that Nigeria may identify. He said that India had announced in 2015 concessional loans of US $10 billion to African countries.

He urged the Nigerian Minister to take advantage of this concessional loan (Lines of Credits) and training programme for agriculture and allied sector.

The Minister further said it is a matter of some satisfaction that for the last few years, India has been the largest trading partner of Nigeria and Nigeria is India’s largest trading partner in Africa. There is tremendous potential for further expanding this volume. Nigeria may consider importing fresh grapes, pepper, wheat, maize, rice and cotton.

On the occasion, Singh conveyed his deep appreciation to the Nigerian Agriculture Minister for encouraging Indian companies to explore the opportunities in Nigerian agriculture field both as investors as well as providers of agri-services, agricultural machinery and technological assistance.