If things go according to plans, Nigeria will receive 85,000 farm equipment from China in the next two years. The equipment will complement efforts already put in place to achieve massive production of foods in the country. This is a sequel to a meeting between the federal government and Chinese agricultural/construction machinery vendors. Officials are confident that this step will boost the current administration’s agricultural transformation agenda as well as achieve food security.
The meeting, between top officials of Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security led by Director, Mechanisation Department, Mr. Sule Majeed, and officials of Tee-Pama Nigeria Limited, vendors of the Chinese YTO Group Corporation, was held in Abuja. The ministry’s Head, Procurement and Administration Department, Mr. Akintunde Akinkunmi, told newsmen after the meeting that the government remained committed to fostering partnerships to effectively drive the agriculture mechanisation in the country.
He said under the partnership agreement, Chinese Group will through their local partner, supply 85,000 farming and construction machineries and implements to boost the current administration’s Renewed Hope agenda, particularly in revolutionising the sector.
He said the supply would be carried out within two years with backup components and spare parts to be distributed to the 774 Local Government Areas with one- or two-years warranty to the federal government.
Akinkunmi said, “A large number of YTO tractors samples were to be procured by the federal government for about five state governments which included Kaduna, Zamfara, Kano, Ebonyi among others, as the preliminary phase for the implementation of the Agricultural Mechanisation System (AMS).”
Should anyone entertain fears about the suitability or durability of the equipment, Akinkunmi allayed that fear, disclosing that they had been tested here in Nigeria, and that an earlier attempt to enter into this agreement (in the life of the former administration) was hampered by recession. He said, “The outstanding performances of the YTO tractors led to the tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), among the federal government, states and YTO CAMACO in 2016 for the supply of 80,000 YTO tractors. Although the MoU could not be fully realised due to the recession in Nigeria at that period, nonetheless the preliminary tractors supplied have maintained their performances.”
During the meeting, Niger State Commissioner of Agriculture, Hon. Salihu Bosso said the government was cultivating 250,000 hectares of land across the state in the first year of the present administration stressing that the state would become the agriculture food hub in Nigeria in the next few years.
Bosso said, “We are happy that we are here to collaborate to ensure that we redirect the minds of our people into agriculture. His Excellency, the farmer Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago is committed to solving the critical problems bedevilling the society using agriculture as a strategy to ensure that our people can feed themselves all-round the year.”