By Stella Odueme
The Federal Government has said that through collaborative efforts, it is targeting the provision of 10,000 tractors to farmers across the country within the next five to boost food production.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari stated this on Wednesday in Abuja during a Technical Meeting with John Deere Group, the firm the ministry signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with in November, 2023 to provide the 10,000 tractors.
According to the Minister who expressed reservation on the slow pace so far said 2,000 tractors are expected be made available to farmers in 2024 as specified in the MoU.
“What we have here is 10,000 tractors for the next five years. We are challenged as a nation that the land is shrinking and we need to increase yields.
“We need to increase yield through tractorisation for optimal production of food crops. We need about 70,000 tractors in Nigeria to achieve this.”
Kyari who stressed that Mr. President was deeply interested in the project, appealed to John Deere Group to fast track the delivery of the tractors as the wet season is fast approaching.
He said that when supplied,
that some of the tractors would be given to Service Providers who will in turn, provide services to small holder farmers at affordable rates.
According to him, part of the discussion is for the Brazilian company to provide Service Centres in the 774 Local Government Areas across the country so that enable small holder farmers can access tractorisation services at affordable costs.
On his part, the Managing Director of John Deere Group, Stephan Gouws, assured that his Group would deliver and supply the tractors in Nigeria as outlined in the MoU.
