To boost food security, the Federal Government would make 2,000 tractors available to farms across the country in January, it was learnt at the weekend.
The Bank of Agriculture (BoA) explained the delay in distributing the tractors unveiled on June 24 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
They were imported from the Eastern European country of Belarus.
BoA stated that the pause was deliberate to ensure transparency, sustainability and a total overhaul of Nigeria’s agricultural mechanisation framework.
In an interview with The Nation, Managing Director of the BoA, Mr. Ayo Sotinrin, said the tractors could not be shared indiscriminately.
On the application process, he explained that the bank received about 110,000 applications from mechanisation service providers nationwide.
“The advert closed last month. We are now shortlisting from 110,000 to about 4,000, and eventually to 2,000 companies.
“Distribution will begin in January to support dry-season farming,” he said.
Sotinrin emphasised that selection would be strictly merit-based.
“There will be no political allocation. If we discover that any tractor has gone to a political person, it will be taken back. No party sharing, no monkey business,” he said.
Recovered funds from repayments, he added, will be reinvested to expand the fleet to 40,000 tractors nationwide.
“This is a growing mechanisation plan, from 2,000 to 4,000, and ultimately to 40,000 tractors,” he said.
He warned that indiscriminate distribution would undermine the national mechanisation masterplan and exclude millions of farmers.
According to him, this marks the first time in Nigeria’s history that agricultural equipment procured with public funds will not be distributed free of charge.
“The objective is to restructure mechanisation in a way that benefits all farmers and strengthens food security,” Sotinrin said.
Explaining the delay, he added: “We want to get it right for the first time in the history of interventions in the agricultural sector.
“These tractors were bought with taxpayers’ money and cannot be given free to individuals.
“If you give 2,000 tractors to 2,000 people, you disenfranchise over 69 million farmers.”
He stressed that the tractors are not intended for direct allocation to farmers.
Sotinrin said: “Farmers are not mechanisation service providers. A tractor is a business tool.
“You cannot give a truck to a wholesaler and expect him to start a transport business.
“In the same way, you don’t give a tractor to a farmer cultivating one hectare.”
Under the new framework, only mechanisation service companies with verifiable financial capacity, strong balance sheets and the ability to pay a 25 per cent deposit will qualify.
This, Sotinrin explained, ensures optimal use of the equipment and wider access for farmers.
The Nation
