By Olawale Lamina
The Tinubu Media Support Group (,TMSG, has commended the decision by the Federal government to purchase 2,000 tractors, 4,000 disc ploughs and other mechanized farming equipment, saying the action is a reflection of the will of President Bola Tinubu’s sincerity to ensure food security in the country within a short period.
TMSG, in a statement signed on Sunday in Abuja by its Chairman, Emeka Nwankpa and the Secretary, Dapo Okubanjo, added that the move was part of the multi-pronged approach by the Tinubu administration to stem the tide of food inflation in the country.
The statement reads: “The decision to buy 2,000 tractors, 4,000 disc ploughs, and 1,200 tractor trailers among other equipment under the National Agricultural Mechanisation Programme (NAMP) is a bold strategy to complement other measures to ramp up food production in the country.
“It is part of the efforts to address the long standing challenge of mechanisation of farming which is well captured in the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy 2022-2027, as published on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Nigeria is ranked at the lowest level of mechanisation in sub-Saharan Africa at 0.27 tractors per 1,000 hectare which is far from the FAO’s recommendation of 1.5 per 1,000 hectare and far inferior to South Africa’s 4.7 and Ghana’s 2.7.
“It is against this backdrop that we laud the government’s plans to make those purchases from a reputable international company which will also set up an assembly plant in the country in line with terms of the contact sealed by the Tinubu administration.
“So aside from purchasing equipment, there is also a window for direct and indirect jobs tied to the deal in what looks like a win-win situation.
“This also means that problems associated with poor maintenance culture and unavailability of spare parts would be tackled under the mechanisation programme. This is commendable.
“And like the President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria, (AFAN), Kabir Ibrahim, we are convinced that the country’s quest to achieve food security would be expedited through mechanised farming.”
The statement acknowledged that this is in line with the campaign promise of President Tinubu on food security, urging sub-national governments to collaborate with the federal government in its efforts to bolster agriculture in the country by making land available where necessary.
The pro-Tinubu group stressed that it is convinced that the Agricultural Mechanisation Programme will strengthen national food security alongside the newly created Ministry of Livestock Development.
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