FG dangles Nigeria’s 70 million hectares of arable land before US investors

Kashim Shettima, vice president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is wooing investors from the United States with Nigeria’s 70 million hectares of arable land.

He also disclosed that the Federal government plans to set up mechanised farm centres in all the 774 local government areas in the country.

The vice president said this on Tuesday in Iowa, United States, while on a mission to woo investors.

He said the venture will help to guarantee food security.

“We are helping our farmers increase production and providing essential infrastructure for industries in peri-urban areas to expand their capacity,” Shettima said.

“This is the wisdom for our resolve to establish Mechanisation Service Centres in all our 774 Local Government Areas to facilitate essential primary production services,” he added.

Read also: FG exploring strategies to achieve food security – Shettima

He said Nigeria remained the best place to invest, “with about 70 million hectares of underutilised arable land, which is 75 percent of our total land area”, adding that the country offers a substantial opportunity to both local and foreign investors to boost agricultural productivity.

“This is why we’ve embraced the TAAT, GIP, and SAPZ programmes and we are investing in agricultural research through the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF).

“This is why we are also helping our farmers increase production,” he said. Shettima’s remarks were made available by Stanley Nkwocha, his spokesman.

The Vice President told the gathering that under President Tinubu’s watch, Nigeria has since demonstrated that the Agrifood sector was a top priority.

He added that while much of the demand for agribusiness products was satisfied through imports, the Tinubu Administration is dedicated to reversing Nigeria’s over-reliance on importation.

He continued: “Because we believe that import rules are a significant factor, we’ve established a policy of zero duties on agricultural machinery and imposed restrictions on certain agricultural commodities to stimulate local production.

“Notably, we’ve opened the doors to foreign investors, allowing them to have 100 percent ownership in companies and repatriate their profits and dividends without hindrance.”