The Federal Government will soon distribute 2,000 tractors to farmers nationwide as part of efforts to achieve dry season and year-round farming, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, has announced.
Speaking in an interview on ARISE News on Friday, Kyari said the tractors and 9,000 implements, earlier commissioned, would be rolled out shortly after logistics and financing arrangements are concluded. “These tractors are not going to be there for show. Very soon we are going to roll them out so that we can face the dry season and all-year-round farming that Mr. President is encouraging,” he said.
Kyari explained that a monitored financing and management system would be introduced, with tractors geofenced and geolocated to ensure accountability. “If you own a 100-hectare farm and are allocated a tractor, you must also pass on services to neighbours who cannot afford one. A tractor can do almost 500 hectares a year,” he noted.
On delayed tractors from Belarus, the minister said 2,000 units, with implements, spare parts and mobile workshops, had already been delivered to the ministry, with modalities for secure distribution being finalised. He stressed that unlike in the past, safeguards would prevent tractors from being diverted or underutilised.
Highlighting progress under the Green Imperative Programme, Kyari said the $1 billion initiative with Brazil had gained momentum under President Bola Tinubu, with agreements and funding frameworks now in place.
On food importation, he clarified that the window approved by government was only temporary. “It lasted six months and has ended. Imports were minimal and did not discourage local production,” he said, adding that government supported farmers with two million free bags of fertilizer and a 50% subsidy under the NAGS programme.
Addressing storage challenges, Kyari revealed that Nigeria has 33 silo sites with a total capacity of 1.3 million tons, but produces over 50 million tons of grains. He said government was engaging investors to expand grassroots-level storage facilities, noting that only three silo sites currently perform effectively.
To curb the problem of portfolio farmers, Kyari said the ministry had signed an MoU with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to verify farmer data and farmland registry, with a pilot scheme targeting 300,000 farmers in Nasarawa State before scaling up to six million nationwide.
On value addition, he urged the local processing of shea nuts. “Nigeria produces 40% of the world’s shea nuts but gains only 1% income. Processing here would create jobs and wealth instead of exporting raw materials,” he said.
Kyari assured that tractors would be allocated to genuine applicants, as well as to farm estates under NALDA and agricultural institutions for research and development.
