Enugu State Leases 67 Tractors to Farmers to Enhance Farming

The Enugu State Government has leased 67 tractors to farmers at a lower rate. This is part of the government's plan to improve farming and encourage mechanised agriculture.

Patrick Ubru, the State Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-industrialisation, shared this news during a visit to the Nortra Tractor Assembly Plant on Tuesday.

Mr Ubru said the tractor leasing program aims to make mechanised farming easier and cheaper for farmers. He mentioned that farmers can lease the tractors for N70,000 per day. This is much lower than the usual rate of about N150,000.

“From the records we have here, about 67 tractors have been leased. It is on lease because you pay a token; it is essentially subsidised access to these tractors,” he said.

He noted that how long a farmer can keep a tractor depends on their needs. The tractors have tracking devices to keep an eye on their location, distance travelled, and usage.

Mr Ubru explained that maintenance for the tractors will happen at the assembly plant. This will cut down the time wasted waiting for spare parts from abroad.

“If a tractor develops a fault, you just call the company and they will pick it up, fix it and return it to work,” he said.

He added that the state now has over 150 functional tractors. This is a big jump from having none before. The government plans to reach a target of 1,000 tractors in total.

The Nortra Assembly Plant is key to this goal. Future tractors will be assembled locally from parts sent in knocked-down form. This will also help create jobs for young people in Enugu.

“We are anticipating that about 3,500 jobs will be created in the first instance at the plant. There are also indirect jobs that will be created,” he said.

He stated that this initiative aims to provide jobs for youths and lessen the urge for them to look for work outside Nigeria. Farmers are already seeing results from the mechanisation program, with many tractors now working on farms across the state.

The state has also bought other tools like harrows, ridgers, ploughs, and trailers to complement the tractors.

Mr Ubru clarified that the tractors are not for sale by the state government. However, Nortra, which works with the government, can sell tractors to anyone who wants to buy.

He mentioned that the state is training young people to operate and maintain the tractors. About 200 youths have been chosen for this training program.

Morten Anderson, the Managing Director of Nortra Tractors, said the company has improved the facility to assemble about 10 tractors each day. There is also space for more expansion.

Mr Anderson said they expect to start assembling tractors at the plant in September. The tractors will come in parts and be put together locally at the facility.