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The world’s top agricultural equipment producer has agreed to set up a tractor assembly plant in Nigeria, the country’s vice president and a senior official of the US-based firm John Deere has said.
Nigeria declared a state of emergency earlier this year to tackle rising food prices and shortages, enabling the government to take extraordinary measures to enhance food security and supply.
At the same time, the government of President Bola Tinubu who took over in May is seeking to revitalise an economy by promoting investments rather than depending on borrowing.
Vice President Kashim Shettima said the government aims to transform the sector so it can be self-sufficient in food production, and it requires mechanisation, among other changes, to achieve its goal.
“The president declared a food security emergency in August this year fundamentally anchored on the fact that we are exposed to all the volatility in the world," he said in a statement issued by the president's office. "We are vulnerable, we are exposed. This is why we are putting in place the mechanisms towards addressing challenges in the sector."
John Deere's Vice President on Production Systems, Jason Brantley, said the company’s proposed investment in Nigeria will boost the country's agricultural potential by creating an organised approach to tractor-clearing services for smallholder farmers across the country.
Brantley said the initiative to establish tractor assembly would require zero investment from the government, while credit guarantees will be needed to help make credit available at an affordable rate for interested persons or groups.
John Deere was ready to immediately engage relevant authorities in Nigeria with a view to actualising the objective of establishing the assembly plant, he said.
(Editing by Bindu Rai)
