The Nigerian minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has said that Nigeria would need at least 72,000 tractors to successfully practice mechanized farming. 

In his address at the food security debate held at the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Senator Kyari noted that Nigeria has not made significant progress in mechanized agriculture. According to him, this lack of progress is a substantial setback for the country.

“We find out that people are just doing agriculture as a means of survival and subsistence. We have to make agriculture a business. We have to turn it around,” Senator Kyari remarked.

“Today, I am not too sure if we have 5,000 tractors fully working in Nigeria. We need over 72,000 with what we have in terms of arable landscape.”

Senator Kyari announced that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed with John Deere, a leading US-based agricultural machinery manufacturer, in November 2023. Under the terms of the MoU, John Deere will supply Nigeria with 2,000 tractors annually for the next five years.

Senator Kyari further disclosed that representatives from John Deere are currently in Nigeria for discussions, with plans to supply much-needed agricultural machinery to enhance mechanized farming efforts across the country.

“As I speak, they are in Lagos today, and they will be arriving in Abuja this evening. We will hold a meeting for the second time with the partners that are here,” he said.