The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammad Abubakar, has re-assured farmers of the federal government’s commitment to supporting them with mechanised equipment to promote agricultural development for a sustainable economy.

Mr Abubakar gave this assurance at the maiden edition of the West Africa Agro-Fair 2022 conference organised by Afrinex West Africa Limited in collaboration with various stakeholders on Thursday in Abuja.

“The government is working with local and international companies to engage in bi-lateral and multilateral agreements aimed at providing basic Agricultural machinery for our farmers.

“About 10,000 tractors and 50,000 processing equipment are expected to be imported and distributed to all local governments across the country, creating hundreds of jobs,” Mr Abubakar said.

The minister stressed that the event was targeted at promoting mechanisation and funding of agriculture, creating new markets and partnerships for exhibitors, and promoting agricultural development for sustainable economic growth.

“It also complements President Muhammadu Buhari’s action plan on food security, economic development and job creation,” he said.

According to him, it is pertinent to note that there is a nexus between technological growth and food security.

“The government is doing everything possible to increase the number of tractors in the country to be made available, especially to smallholder farmers,” he said.

The president of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Farouk Rabi’u-Mudi, said the laudable initiative will not stop at boosting productivity and the economy but will also hinder post-harvest losses associated with storage equipment.

“Using manual labour for one hectare of land will cost you about N40,000, but with mechanised equipment, you do the same land tilling at just the cost of N6,000,” he stated.

(NAN)