Vice President Kashim Shettima says Nigeria and Brazil have moved beyond diplomatic engagements to the implementation phase of their bilateral agro-trade partnership, paving the way for private sector operators in both countries to begin trading in key agricultural commodities….
Vice President Kashim Shettima says Nigeria and Brazil have moved beyond diplomatic engagements to the implementation phase of their bilateral agro-trade partnership, paving the way for private sector operators in both countries to begin trading in key agricultural commodities.
Shettima made the declaration on Monday during a High-Level Nigeria–Brazil Agro-Trade Market Access Milestone meeting with a Brazilian delegation led by the country’s Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, André Carlos Alves de Paula Filho, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, on Monday, July 13, the Vice President said the milestones recorded under the Nigeria-Brazil Agro-Trade Initiative marked a transition from policy discussions to concrete action.
“We have moved with deliberate steps from dialogue to delivery, from agreements to implementation, and from shared ambition to outcomes that can be counted, weighed and shipped. This is precisely how enduring partnerships evolve,” Shettima said.
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The Vice President, who co-chairs the Nigeria-Brazil Strategic Dialogue Mechanism (SDM) alongside Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, said the true value of international partnerships lies in implementation and the benefits they deliver to citizens.
Describing the latest progress as a continuation of engagements initiated during President Bola Tinubu’s state visit to Brazil, Shettima said both countries had now laid the foundation for increased trade, investment and technical cooperation in agriculture and livestock development.
He disclosed that the Joint Agriculture and Livestock Technical Working Group established under the SDM is now operational, with specialised action groups focusing on dairy and livestock genetics, soybean productivity, agricultural policy, and agro-climatic risk zoning.
Recalling discussions between President Tinubu and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during the Nigerian leader’s visit to Brazil, Shettima noted that both leaders agreed bilateral agricultural trade had remained below the potential of the two economies and directed officials to identify opportunities to expand cooperation.
“I am pleased that we can today report the first tangible fruits of that presidential directive. The market access milestones we announce are the product of months of disciplined collaboration between our ministries, our regulatory authorities, our technical experts and our private sector partners.
“They show what becomes possible when political leadership is matched by strong institutions and by the humility to do the unglamorous work of implementation,” he said.
The Vice President commended Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture and Livestock for leading the delegation to Abuja, describing the visit as evidence of the enduring relationship between both countries.
“It affirms our shared determination to fashion a partnership that delivers practical benefit to the farmer in Jigawa, to the processor in Kwara, to the exporter in Lagos, and to the households in São Paulo and Brasília who will one day consume the fruits of our soil,” he added.
Shettima also thanked the Brazilian government for strengthening its institutional presence in Nigeria through the appointment of an Agricultural Attaché and the growing involvement of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), saying the initiatives had accelerated technical cooperation between both nations.
“As these new markets open, your leadership will be indispensable in preparing farmers, cooperatives, processors and exporters to satisfy international standards, to add value at home rather than surrender it abroad, and to ensure that these opportunities ripen into jobs, into incomes, and into growth across your domains,” he said.
Speaking at the meeting, Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, André Carlos Alves de Paula Filho, said both countries were making steady progress under the Nigeria-Brazil Accelerated Agricultural Trade Initiative, which emerged from commitments made by Presidents Tinubu and Lula.
He disclosed that Brazil had agreed to open its market to Nigerian exports of hibiscus, sesame and shea butter.
“I am pleased to inform you that the technical staff of Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock is in the final stages of preparing the phytosanitary certificate proposal required to enable these exports.
“Once this work is completed, we will also facilitate contacts between Nigerian exporters and potential Brazilian buyers, creating concrete commercial opportunities for these products in the Brazilian market,” the minister said.
Also speaking, Jigawa State Governor Umar Namadi welcomed the partnership, noting that the state accounts for about 75 per cent of Nigeria’s non-oil exports and pledged the state’s support for the successful implementation of the initiative.
Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, said the agreement reached by Presidents Tinubu and Lula was already strengthening trade relations between both countries.
Kyari described Brazil as a global model in agricultural transformation and expressed confidence that the renewed partnership under the Tinubu administration would accelerate Nigeria’s agricultural exports and deepen bilateral cooperation.