The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Ayo Sotirin, has explained why the 2,000 tractors acquired under the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme have not yet been distributed to farmers.
Speaking in an interview, Sotirin said the delay was deliberate in reforming Nigeria’s mechanisation system to ensure fairness, sustainability, and wider access for millions of farmers across the country.
The tractors, supplied by Belarus and officially received by President Bola Tinubu in February, were flagged off for distribution in June 2025.
However, Sotirin stated that handing them out directly to individuals would undermine the national mechanisation masterplan.
“These tractors were bought with taxpayers’ money and cannot be given free to individuals,” he said. “If you give 2,000 tractors to 2,000 people, you disenfranchise over 69 million farmers.”
According to Sotirin, the tractors are not meant for direct ownership by farmers but will instead be allocated to mechanisation service providers who can serve multiple farming communities.
“Farmers are not mechanisation service providers. A tractor is a business tool,” he said, adding that allocating tractors to service companies ensures more exhaustive coverage and better utilisation.
The bank received over 110,000 applications from mechanisation service providers nationwide.
These are currently being shortlisted to 4,000 firms, with 2,000 expected to qualify to receive tractors from January 2026.
Successful applicants must demonstrate strong financial capacity, provide a 25% deposit, and demonstrate the ability to cultivate at least 500 hectares.
Sotirin stated that this approach would ensure that the tractors are used efficiently and benefit more farmers.
“If you spread 2,000 tractors across the 36 states, each state will have about 80 to 100 tractors,” he explained.
“That way, they can collectively cover over 100,000 hectares and serve millions of farmers.”
He also stressed that the process would be strictly merit-based, with no political interference.
“There will be no political allocation. If any tractor goes to a political person, it will be taken back,” he said.
Sotirin revealed that the programme will be supported by digital tools, allowing farmers to book tractor services through an app.
Payments will be based on usage rather than fixed monthly instalments, making mechanisation more affordable for smallholder farmers.
“They pay as they use. Once a tractor works on 10 hectares, the system records it and generates an invoice,” he said.
Recovered funds will be reinvested to scale the programme from 2,000 tractors to 4,000, and eventually to 40,000 nationwide.
BOA has also procured 36 mobile service trucks and plans to establish tractor hubs across the six geopolitical zones.
Source: The Agricultural Option
