Food Production: Nigeria Receives First Batch Of Farm Implements From Belarus

The Federal Government has received the first batch of 2,000 tractors and 9,027 other farming equipment from Belarus as part of efforts to enhance mechanised farming and accelerate food production across the country.

The Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, confirmed the development in a video posted on X.com on Tuesday.

“Nigeria has received the first batch of the 2,000 tractors and 9,027 other farming equipment to be procured in 2025 as President Tinubu’s administration seeks to accelerate food production in the country,” Olusegun wrote.

According to him, the new tractors will be distributed under three key schemes aimed at making mechanised farming more accessible to different segments of the farming community.

“The tractors will be distributed under three key schemes: direct purchase for individuals and organizations seeking to acquire them outright, a leasing scheme that provides affordable access to mechanization without full ownership costs, and a service provider model that establishes tractor service centers in farming communities across the country, allowing smallholder farmers to lease tractors as needed,” he explained.

To ensure sustainability, Olusegun added that the government has procured spare parts alongside the tractors to guarantee maintenance for at least the next four years.

The arrival of the farming equipment aligns with the government’s broader strategy to enhance food production and reduce the soaring prices of food commodities. In August 2024, President Bola Tinubu announced that Nigeria had placed orders for mechanised farm tools from the United States, Belarus, and Brazil to support the agricultural sector.

Similarly, in January 2025, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, disclosed that the government had begun receiving the 2,000 tractors ordered from Belarus, reaffirming its commitment to modernizing agriculture and addressing food security challenges.

The initiative is expected to provide smallholder farmers and agribusinesses with greater access to mechanized farming tools, ultimately improving agricultural productivity and stabilising food prices across the country.