Mixed reactions greet FG tractor hiring centres
Last year, President Goodluck Jonathan announced a N50 billion intervention in the setting up of agricultural equipment hiring centres and the upgrading of the country’s food reserve silos.
To achieve this, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) took steps to commercialise the privatization of agricultural mechanisation in Nigeria.
According to the ministry, no fewer than 590 tractors, various harvest and postharvest equipment have been deployed to render mechanisation services to Nigerian farmers in 2015.
“A total of 118 Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprises (AEHEs) have been done through a governmentenabled self-sustaining private sector-driven agricultural mechanisation programme, established with nationwide outlook, but meant to be implemented in phases,” the ministry stated in its website.
The agric ministry said the first batch of the first phase of the programme has been established with 400 tractors, 500 Power Tillers, assorted harvest and post-Harvest mechanisation equipment. These were won by 80 Service Provider Operators (SPOs) across 28 states of Nigeria, including FCT.
“In the first batch of 80 AEHEs, the equipment for rendering agricultural mechanisation services have been deployed to the respective states. Their locations are demand-driven and depended in the choice areas of the Service Provider Operators that won the bids; they were not government-determined or government-influenced,” the ministry stressed.
Our correspondent in Taraba reports, however that the deployment of the equipment does not meet the farmers’ demands.
An operator of the Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprise (AEHE) in Taraba, Sani Marke, also said more tractors are needed in the state to meet the demands of the