The Bank of Agriculture and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security have distributed over 2,000 tractors and heavy-duty equipment to mechanised farmers to boost production and strengthen the national food security programme.

The distribution of the tractors, supported by Heifer International and Heifer Nigeria, is being conducted under the federal government’s Renewed Hope National Agricultural Mechanisation Programme.

Speaking on Monday, BOA’s managing director, Ayodeji Sontinrin, said the initiative aligns with the federal government’s plan to transform agriculture into a sustainable, productivity-driven sector. He said the programme goes beyond distributing tractors and aims to build enduring systems that create value across the agricultural chain, especially for millions of smallholder farmers.

“NAMP is more than tractor distribution. It is a commitment to building systems that endure, generate value and serve the millions of smallholder farmers who feed the nation,” he said.

Mr Sontinrin noted that the initiative was structured to deliver long-term economic returns while positioning Nigeria as a leading food-producing nation.

“This is an ambitious agenda, but achievable because it rests on sound principles: financial discipline, inclusive participation, digital accountability and ecosystem thinking,” he stated.

He urged beneficiaries to treat the equipment as a national trust and maximise its utilisation. Mr Sontinrin described the handover as a historic milestone in Nigeria’s agricultural transformation journey.

“This programme, the first of its kind in Nigeria and the largest in Africa, reflects President Bola Tinubu’s recognition of agriculture as a national priority,” he said.

The agriculture minister, Abubakar Kyari, said more than 100,000 applications were received during the first phase, demonstrating strong nationwide demand for mechanisation. He clarified that the tractors were not allocated for private ownership but deployed through Mechanisation Service Providers under a regulated lease-to-own model.

“These tractors are entrusted to service providers to support farmers, not for private ownership,” Kyari explained.

He said that each tractor could service about 600 hectares per year, significantly increasing productivity. Mr Kyari added that many service providers were youth- and women-led enterprises, supported by structured financing and sustainability mechanisms.

“BOA, with Heifer International, is deploying financing models including leasing, hire-purchase and service aggregation to ensure sustainability,” he said.

He said the ministry would provide policy oversight, quality assurance, monitoring and national capacity-building.

“This is not just equipment distribution; it is a governed transformation delivering food security, job creation and economic resilience,” Mr Kyari said.

(NAN)