Senate demand explanation as FG delays deployment of 2,000 tractors
Members of the joint Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Agricultural Production on Tuesday grilled the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, over the location and delayed rollout of 2,000 tractors procured by the Federal Government.
The questioning came as the minister appeared before the National Assembly to defend the ministry’s proposed 2026 budget.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had on June 23, 2025 inaugurated the tractors and several agricultural implements under the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme at the National Agricultural Seeds Council, Sheda, along the Abuja–Lokoja Expressway. However, almost eight months later, the equipment has yet to reach farmers nationwide.
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A lawmaker from Rivers State, Awaji Inombek, voiced concern about the prolonged delay and asked the minister to state clearly where the tractors are and when they will be distributed.
In his response, Abdullahi said the delay was intentional, aimed at preventing the failures that dogged previous mechanisation initiatives. He explained that earlier schemes often saw tractors handed to individuals who were not genuine farmers, leaving real farmers to pay exorbitant fees while many of the machines ended up abandoned.
According to the minister, the current intervention is part of a three-pronged programme, one of which is already in operation under the Belarus Mechanisation arrangement.
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He said the government acquired 2,000 tractors of different capacities, combined harvesters, more than 9,000 implements, and 12 mobile workshops to support operations.
Abdullahi noted that President Tinubu had directed that tractor services must be made available to farmers at minimal cost and closer to farming communities. To achieve this, the Bank of Agriculture has been saddled with managing the scheme and has already called for applications from young Nigerians, women, and other agricultural practitioners. The selection process, he said, is ongoing.
He further revealed that Agricultural Mechanisation Service Centres would be set up across the six geopolitical zones and run on a pay-per-use model. Under this arrangement, service providers will maintain the equipment, while farmers will only pay for the work done.
The minister stressed that the government has abandoned the old practice of allocating tractors directly to individuals, pointing out that more than 7,000 tractors from past programmes are currently non-functional.
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He added that spare parts for the new machines have been procured and that youths are undergoing training to handle repairs and maintenance.
Abdullahi assured lawmakers that deployment would begin in phases as the rainy season draws near.
On the implementation of the 2025 budget, the minister said personnel costs had been largely covered but capital projects were suffering from delayed releases. He disclosed that roughly 30 per cent of the ministry’s capital vote—about ₦18 billion—had yet to be disbursed.
In their remarks, the Chairman of the House Committee on Agricultural Production and Services, Bello A. Ka’oje, warned that inadequate funding could threaten food security and slow economic recovery.
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Similarly, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Production and Rural Development, Saliu Mustapha, cautioned that shrinking allocations to the sector might deepen the country’s food crisis.
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