The Federal Government is set to introduce the Agricultural Implement and Mechanisation Scheme (AIMS) as a substitute to the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES).
Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development disclosed this during the unveiling of the SMART model farm recently in Abuja.
The GES which is a Federal Government initiative was aimed at transforming the country’s agricultural sector through the provision of subsidised farm inputs to farmers.
It involves cost sharing on major agricultural inputs such as fertilisers and seeds between the FG, state governments and the farmers.
With the agreement, FG and the state governments pays 25 percent each of the distribution costs of key farm inputs to farmers across the country, while farmers bear the cost of the remaining 50 percent.
Ogbeh in a statement made available to BusinessDay, stated that the GES program is no longer sustainable owing to the failure of most state governments to comply with their 25 percent counterpart fund.
According to the minister, this has resulted in the accumulation of debt to the Federal Government.
The minister stated that as a result, the government will introduce the AIMS programme, whose focus will be on Agricultural Mechanisation and Provision of Farm Implement based on Public Private Partnership (PPP) to assist commercial and smallholder farmers have access to hire or own tractors.
He explained that sophisticated tractors will be acquired from John Deere International, saying that the tractors are capable of working up to 15 hours.
Jason Brantley, managing director, John Deere Tractors Manufacturing Company, in his opening remarks said that the tractors have a very strong horse power and are designed to solve the problem of Nigerian farmers and increase the level of productivity in the nation’s agriculture sector, which will result in ensuring food security.
Also speaking, Mohammed Babandi, director, Federal Department of Agriculture in the Ministry, who was represented by Owolabi Olusegun, director-Agricultural Mechanization, disclosed that the minister has been working tirelessly in search of partners that will supply tractors to Nigerian farmers and this prompted the department to explore possible ways in both software and hardware in proffering solutions to myriad of problems facing Nigeria’s agriculture sector.
Danladi Garba, chairman, Association of Tractor Owners and Hiring Facility of Nigeria,(TOFAN) stated that his association has been assisting Nigerian farmers across the six geopolitical zones in cultivating and harvesting with the few tractors at their disposal, saying that his association is ready to partner on this new initiative.
Josephine Okojie
