The federal government has revealed it will receive 500 tractors assembled by the John Deere Group to improve mechanised farming.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, disclosed in a statement on Thursday in Abuja that the gesture would also increase food production and help the country achieve food and nutrition security.

Mr Kyari stated that John Deere would deliver the 500 tractors by the end of May and more in September.

He assured that the group would achieve the 2,000 tractors yearly target set in the memorandum of understanding with the ministry for the next five years.

The minister explained that tractors were needed to increase agricultural yields, saying that this was very important for the agricultural sector’s growth.

He reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to improve food and nutrition security through mechanisation.

Mr Kyari said the tractors would be accessible, available, and affordable for small, large-scale, and cooperative farmers nationwide. He also revealed that the federal government had procured 58,500 tons of milled rice from the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria to stabilise the market forces.

The initiative aimed at catalyzing farming activities and fortifying the nation’s food and nutrition security in line with President Bola Tinubu’s emergency declaration on food security.

On the recently released fertilizer by the CBN to the ministry, the minister stated that the release of 2.15 million bags of assorted fertilizer ranging from NPK, UREA, and SSP, worth over N100 billion, by the CBN to Nigerian farmers was to enhance agricultural production.

Mr Kyari said the apex bank’s contribution would increase food production capabilities and encourage price stabilisation in the agricultural sector. He said the ministry had received the handover letter and would commence the distribution of the various assorted fertilizers as soon as the warehouse locations are made available to the ministry.

(NAN)