Mechanised farming: FG plans 5m jobs through 50,000 tractors

The federal government Thursday announced a US$1.2 billion agricultural programme to span over a period of five to 10 years.

The initiative codenamed ‘The Green Imperative,’ will import the Completely Knocked Down (CKD) parts of about 5,000 tractors and numerous implements (for local assembly) annually for a period of 10 years.”

Cumulatively, the initiative, expected to attract US$10 million, would bring into the nation’s agricultural system some 50,000 tractors in ten years.

The federal government also said: “The programme is to be implemented over a period of 5-10 years with funding from the Development Bank of Brazil (BNDES) and Deutsche Bank; with insurance provided by Brazilian Guarantees and Fund Managements Agency (ABGF) and the Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Export Credit (ICIEC) of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and coordinated by Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV).”

Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed and his agriculture and rural development counterpart, Alhaji Sabo Nanono, announced this at a joint press conference in Abuja.

Addressing newsmen, the information and culture minister said: “The Buhari Administration is set to revolutionise agriculture in Nigeria through a programme called ‘the green imperative, a Nigeria-Brazil Bilateral Agriculture Development Programme.

“It is the outcome of Nigeria’s decision, dating back to 6 June, 2016, to enrol in Brazil’s Government-to-Government More Food International Programme (MFIP). Following that decision, and between June 2016 and December 2019, several high-level Ministerial and technical visits and exchanges have occurred between the two countries. During one of such visits, the Bilateral Protocol of Intention with the Government of Brazil was signed in March 2017.”

He said the programme targeted at the “reactivation of six motor assembly plants in the six geo-political zones of the country for assembling tractors and other implements,” would bring about the establishment of 142 agro processing service centres for value-addition, with one centre in each Senatorial District.”

Further to that, Mohammed said it would also lead to the “establishment of 632 mechanisation service centres to support primary production in the 774 Local Government Areas and the Federal Capital Territory.

“This will create 774 service centres nationwide to mechanise our farming methods and process or add value to farm produce locally, leading to efficiency and eliminating post-harvest losses, thereby cutting down cost of food all year round.”

Besides, he said:  “Private sector operators will operate and manage all the service centres and the assembly plants. The programme will create about five million jobs and inject over US$10 billion into the economy within 10 years.

“It will create a sustainable supply chain of agricultural raw materials for our large manufacturing companies to source locally, thereby saving billions of US Dollars in food-related forex.

“It will train about 100,000 extension workers within three years. It will impact over 35 million persons nutritionally and economically. It will revitalise our Research and Extension service delivery through a five-year technology-package transfer component. The programme’s benefits also include the transfer of technology from Brazil’s manufacturers and institutions to Nigeria.”

On the whole, the minister said: “The stage is now set for an agricultural revolution that will strengthen food security, create massive jobs, transfer technology, revive or reinvigorate many assembly plants, strengthen the economy, save scarce resources, mechanise farming and lead to the emergence of value-added agriculture, among other benefits.”

Nanono

In his own remarks, the Agriculture and Rural Development Minister, Alhaji Nanono said of the 94 million cultivable acres of land, only 34 million were cultivated, adding that the cultivated ones were not done at the optimal level.

He said with the 50,000 tractors in the 632 rural local government areas, Nanono said Nigeria would be centre stage for food processing for local consumption and export.

“Each tractor will be tracked to know what it’s doing and the revenue it is generating. I want to urge Nigerians to embrace and own this project that is going to be private sector-driven. As soon as the National Assembly approves the loan, it will come in four weeks. The loan is in equipment and I assure you this project will work,” the minister said.

While stating that the programme was a success story in Mozambique and Ghana, he said: “I am pained Nigerians don’t grab opportunities that come their way.

“Look at the case of rice importation, what would have happened to us now if we had remained an importer of rice with our borders closed? People shouted when this administration stopped the importation, and today we are the better for it.”

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