BY FESTUS OKOROMADU
The Federal Government says it is targeting local production of 2,000 tractors annually, as part of efforts to boost food production in the country.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, disclosed this when the Vice-President of John Deere Ltd. (a tractor manufacturing company), Jason Brantley, paid him a courtesy visit on Friday.
A statement issued by the Assistant Director of Information in the ministry, Ezeaja Ikemefuna, quoted the Minister as saying that the initiative to begin local production of tractors would not only bolster food security but also create jobs for farmers, especially women and youths and enhance food and nutrition security.
Kyari noted that the visit was a follow-up to a meeting between Nigeria’s Vice-President Kashim Shettima and top officials of John Deere Ltd. at the October 24 World Food Prize Foundation Day held in Iowa, U.S.A.
He stated that the Federal Government would not buy the tractors; instead, it would provide the enabling environment to make them affordable by farmers on loan at low-interest rates to bolster year-round farming.
The minister further explained that farmers would have to form clusters or cooperatives to enable them to buy the tractors to facilitate mechanized farming, adding that payments could be made in installments.
In his remarks, Brantley disclosed that the company was exploring the possibility of tractor hiring or acquisition or local production, backed with after-sales services, supply of genuine spare parts and training of operators and mechanics.
According to the top executive of John Deere Ltd., the tractors would have a capacity ranging between 75 horsepower and 90 horsepower for use in different terrains.
