FG, TracTrac unveil national agricultural mechanisation policy, investment strategy

Nigeria is taking a significant step to bolster its food security and agricultural output with the unveiling of the National Agricultural Mechanisation Policy and the National Agricultural Mechanisation Investment Strategy. These initiatives, launched in Abuja, are designed to accelerate food production and strengthen the nation's resilience.

The policies aim to foster an environment where capital, technology, skills, and entrepreneurship can converge, making agricultural mechanisation both commercially viable and accessible to farmers across the country. Senator Abubakar Kyari, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, emphasized that food security is fundamental to national sovereignty and economic stability.

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Food security was fundamental to national sovereignty, economic resilience and stability, stressing that the policies were designed to create an ecosystem where capital, technology, skills and entrepreneurship could converge to make mechanisation commercially viable and accessible to farmers.

Kyari highlighted that agricultural mechanisation extends beyond merely providing tractors. The government is adopting a comprehensive approach to improve access to machinery and other essential agricultural services. He pointed to Nigeria's large agricultural economy, expanding domestic food market, youthful population, and growing agro-processing sector as significant opportunities for investment in mechanisation.

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Under the visionary leadership of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, the Renewed Hope Agenda has firmly positioned agriculture as an engine of productivity, prosperity and economic transformation.

A key component of the strategy is the development of a "Mechanisation-as-a-Service" model, allowing farmers to access appropriate technology when and where needed at sustainable costs. Furthermore, the Federal Government is planning to establish a large-scale tractor assembly plant with an annual production capacity ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 units. This move is intended to reduce the country's reliance on imported agricultural machinery.

The Renewed Hope National Agricultural Mechanisation Programme (RH-NAMP) has already begun procuring and deploying 2,000 tractors and over 9,000 assorted implements and spare parts. The government views this as the largest single agricultural mechanisation intervention in Africa, with its ultimate success depending on effective maintenance, financing, utilization, and accessibility for farmers.

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Our responsibility as a ministry is to translate that vision into policy architecture, institutional coherence and practical pathways for investment and delivery.