FG acquires 2000 tractors to boost food production nationwide

From Cyril Mbah, Abuja.

The Federal Government has commissione the production of more than 2000 modern tractors and other necessary farm implements to assist in reviving and revolutionising agricultural activities across the 36 states of the federation starting with this year’s planting season.

According to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari the ministry will soon ake delivery of 500 of the tractors to improve mechanized farming, increase production, and achieve food and nutrition security.

A statement from the agriculture ministry said the initiative aims at catalyzing farming activities to fortify the nation’s food and nutrition security in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s emergency declaration on food security.

The minister made this known during a chat with a selected media group in his office.

Sen. Kyari stated that John Deere would deliver the 500 tractors by the end of May and the rest in September 2024.

He assured that the group will achieve the set target of 2,000 tractors yearly for the next five years as signed in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry.

Sen. Kyari explained that to increase agricultural yields, there was a need for tractors, stressing that this was very important for growth in the agric sector.

The minister reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to improve food and nutrition security through mechanization, adding that the tractors would be accessible, available, and affordable for small, large-scale, and cooperative farmers across the country.

He also revealed that the Federal

Government procured 58,500 tons of milled rice from Rice Millers Association of Nigeria for stabilization of the market force, adding,  “what we did not want to do, was to get to market and purchase food stuff, we have appealed to World Food Program (WFP), which is a United Nation’s based agency, not to make bulk purchase from the market so as not to exacerbate the food price inflation that we have now’’, the minister added.

On the recently released fertilizer by the CBN to FMAFS, the Minister stated that the release of 2.15 million bags of assorted fertilizer ranging from NPK, UREA and SSP, worth over N100  Billion Naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to Nigeria farmers was to enhance agricultural production.

He commended the apex Bank’s contribution adding that it will help increase food production capabilities as well as encourage price stabilization in the agricultural sector.

He revealed that the ministry received the handing over letter and would commence the distribution of various assorted fertilizers as soon as locations where they are ware-housed are made available to the ministry

He further assured that the donation would be judiciously utilized and delivered to the intended farmers  “as soon as we get the locations which I am sure is spread across the country, we will swing into action’.