The Enugu State government says it has leased 67 tractors to farmers in the state at a subsidised rate to boost agricultural production and promote mechanised farming.

The Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-industrialisation, Patrick Ubru, disclosed this when journalists visited the Nortra Tractor Assembly Plant established by the state government on Tuesday.

Mr Ubru said the tractor leasing initiative was part of the government’s efforts to make mechanised farming more accessible and affordable to farmers.

He said farmers could access the tractors at a subsidised rate of N70,000 per day, compared with the prevailing commercial rate of about N150,000.

“From the records we have here, about 67 tractors have been leased. It is on lease because you pay a token; it is essentially subsidised access to these tractors,” he said.

He explained that the lease duration would depend on the farmer’s needs, adding that the tractors were fitted with tracking devices to monitor their location, mileage and usage.

The commissioner said the assembly plant would also handle tractor maintenance, eliminating delays associated with importing spare parts.

“If a tractor develops a fault, you just call the company, and they will pick it up, fix it and return it to work,” he said.

He said the state had moved from having no functional tractors to having more than 150, with more expected as the government pursued its target of 1,000 tractors.

He said the Nortra Assembly Plant would play a major role in achieving the target, as future tractors supplied to the state would be assembled locally from knocked-down components.

According to him, local assembly would create employment opportunities for young people in the state.

“We are anticipating that about 3,500 jobs will be created in the first instance at the plant. There are also indirect jobs that will be created,” he said.

He said the development was also part of the government’s efforts to create jobs for youths and reduce the pressure on young people to seek opportunities outside the country.

He added that farmers in the state were already benefiting from the mechanisation programme, noting that many of the tractors had been deployed to farms across the state.

He said the state had also acquired implements, including harrows, ridgers, ploughs and trailers, to support tractor use.

The commissioner said the state government was not selling the tractors, but that Nortra, a private company collaborating with the government, could sell tractors to individuals who wanted to own them.

He said the state was also training young people to operate and maintain the tractors, adding that about 200 youths had been profiled for the training programme.

The Managing Director of Nortra Tractors, Morten Anderson, said the company had upgraded the facility to assemble about 10 tractors daily, with room for further expansion.

Mr Anderson said the company was expected to begin assembling tractors at the plant in September.

He explained that the tractors would arrive in knocked-down components and be assembled locally at the facility.

According to him, the company was also making provision for accommodation for its engineers and workers, thereby reducing the cost of hotel accommodation. 

(NAN)