Brazil and Nigeria announce historic agricultural partnership

While in the past it was somewhat of an afterthought on the political agenda, foreign policy in Brazil has now taken on a bigger role with the election of Jair Bolsonaro. The appointment of the anti-globalist, anti-Marxist chancellor Ernesto Araújo has raised doubts about Brazil’s future relationship with left-wing governments in Latin America; the president’s China-skeptic comments have strained relations with the Asian giant; the government’s adoration of the U.S. and desire to copy Donald Trump in moving Brazil’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem is another hot-button issue.

Africa, on the other hand, has been somewhat forgotten about, even though today, Brazil and Nigeria will launch the continent’s largest-ever agricultural project, worth a whopping USD 1.1 billion.

The initial phase of the program—designed to involve Nigeria’s entire productive chain—consists of exporting 10,000 Brazilian tractors and 50,000 machinery units to be assembled in the West African country. The idea is to stimulate Nigerian agriculture, which for so long has been overlooked in order to give precedence to the country’s oil sector.

The funding for...