Jide Ojo
“We made a promise when we came in. We are fulfilling that promise. Two years ago, I sounded the alarm on our nation’s food security. While we are here, over 2,000 advanced tractors, 50 industrial-grade land preparation booths, 12 fully equipped mobile workshops, and at least 8,000 specialised farming implements abound. This equipment, when deployed to empower mechanisation and service providers, create job opportunities.” – President Bola Tinubu on June 23, 2025, at the unveiling of farm implements in Abuja.
Last Monday, June 23, 2025, President Bola Tinubu commissioned some agricultural implements. This is laudable.
Speaking at the launch, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, hailed the programme as “the single largest mechanisation drive ever undertaken in Nigeria.” He added, “From the very first days of this administration, Mr. President made it abundantly clear. Food security is national security.”
He noted that the initiative follows four major mechanisation schemes under the Renewed Hope Agenda: The John Deere Tractorisation Programme, the Greener Hope Project, the Green Imperative Programme, and the Belarus Project. The minister praised the rapid implementation achieved through the technical partnership with AFTRADE DMCC, a global leader in agricultural machinery. “Never in Nigeria’s history have we witnessed an agricultural mechanisation initiative of this scale, ambition, and national focus,” Kyari stated. He added that under the new programme, the government is rolling out 2,000 high-quality tractors equipped with trailers, ploughs, harrows, sprayers, and planters, along with 10 combined harvesters, 12 fully equipped mobile workshops, 50 bulldozers for land preparation, and more than 9,000 complementary farming implements and spare parts.
The Minister explained that the programme’s objectives include cultivating over 550,000 hectares, generating more than two million metric tonnes of staple food, creating over 16,000 jobs, and directly impacting more than 550,000 farming households. “This is not just about distributing tractors. It is about transforming the entire narrative of Nigerian agriculture, from subsistence to scale, from effort to efficiency, from hand hoes to horsepower,” he said. The initiative also includes mandatory training for operators, GPS-based tracking for transparency, and financing support through development and non-interest banks. “Mechanisation must inspire a new generation of agri-preneurs,” Kyari added.
“We are already building a Nigeria that grows what it eats and eats what it grows.”
On July 13, 2023, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency on food insecurity according to his then spokesperson, now Minister of Solid Mineral, Dele Alake. According to him, the President also directed the immediate release of fertilizers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal. He called for an urgent synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and to guarantee food is produced all year round.
Two years ago, President Tinubu promised to create and support a National Commodity Board that would review and continuously assess food prices as well as maintain a strategic food reserve to serve as a price stabilisation mechanism for critical grains and other food items. Through this board, the government is expected to moderate variation in food prices. To achieve this, the following stakeholders were brought on board: The National Commodity Exchange, Seed Companies, National Seed Council and Research institutes, NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, Food Processing/ Agric Processing associations, Private sector holders & Prime Anchors, Smallholder farmers, Crop associations and Fertilizer producers, Blenders and Suppliers associations to mention a few. Tinubu also promised to engage our security architecture to protect the farms and the farmers, so that farmers can return to the farmlands without fear of attacks. Laudable! Isn’t it? The question is how much progress has been made on this count in the last two years?
It is welcomed that the federal government is prioritising food security and has rightly positioned it as an enabler of national security. A hungry man is an angry man, says a popular adage. I also appreciate that the president carved out a Ministry of Livestock Development last year. The belief is that this new ministry will help in resolving the timeless farmers’ and herders’ conflict. Disappointingly, very little has been achieved in this regard.
The gaps in the Federal Government’s food security programmers are as follows: An online source reported that Nigeria has 16 National Agricultural Research Institutes. These institutes focus on various aspects of agricultural research, including crop and livestock improvement, and are coordinated by the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria.
Unfortunately, there is no synergy between the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and these research institutes. We have the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology with many agencies under it. Can’t they produce tractors and farm implements for the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security? Is it not a shame that in our 65 years of independence, we are still importing farm implements? I think there should be an inter-ministerial committee that includes Budget and Planning, Finance, Water Resources, Environment, Transport, Defence, Police Affairs as well as Science and Technology.
Furthermore, is it not better for President Tinubu to encourage ‘agriprenuers from across the world to come and set up factories, companies, and assembling plants here? Importing tractors from Belarus is tantamount to capital flight as we have to pay with foreign exchange. Did the contract awarded for the supply of these agricultural implements follow due process?
The second issue I have with this mechanization initiative is that it is not being done with the sub-nationals. States and Local Governments are completely out of the picture. Yet, all lands are vested in the state government and the federal government has no single parcel of land. It is therefore important to synergize with states and local governments on the deployment of these farm implements.
The third issue is about access to land. To practice mechanised farming, an agriprenuer will need large acres of land. Unfortunately, several disputes over land ownership abound in Nigeria. Getting land titles from the government is also like a Carmel passing through the eye of a needle. I urge governors to provide farm settlements such as we had in the Western Region of Nigeria in the 1960s. If we can have industrial parks and Housing Estates, there is nothing that says we shouldn’t have agricultural hubs or parks where the government can make access to land affordable and without much red tape.
That brings me to the issue of post-harvest losses which in some cases is about 40 percent because of poor road networks to many farmlands as well as issues of flooding, locust invasion, and plagues that affect farm produce. Trunk C roads are under the local government’s control. Unfortunately, since that system of government seems to have collapsed, the state government needs to prioritise good rural road networks.
Can Nigerian farmers access single-digit interest loans? I know we do have a Bank of Agriculture. It is however important for farmers to have access to credit facilities. How many silos are available for grain storage across the country? What’s the state of these silos? Are they in good condition? Can the government also clamp down on illegal food import and smuggling to protect local Agribusiness investors?
Perhaps the most important variable that affects food production and security in Nigeria is the activities of bandits, insurgents, and terrorists. Many farmers have been displaced by these undesirable elements. Many farmers are now living in Internally Displaced Person camps or have forcefully relocated to urban centres for safety reasons. Governments at all levels therefore need to significantly improve rural security architecture so that farmers can feel safe enough to practice their business. The recently approved agro-rangers and forest guards by President Tinubu are a welcome development. However, they need to be well-resourced in terms of training, equipment, and welfare.
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