Niger places order for 1,000 tractors, receives first batch of 300

The Niger State has started receiving the first batch of the 1,000 tractors ordered by the state government and handheld farm implements in preparation for the cultivation of crops as the wet season commences in the next few months.

Receiving the first batch of the tractors at Minna Airport, Maikunkele, Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, said the state government had ordered for over 1,000 tractors and that 300 tractors and 1,000 handhelds implements have been delivered so far.

The agricultural equipment was delivered in fulfilment of the 650 million dollar partnership the state government signed with John Deere Limited for the supply of the equipment.

Bago maintained that the effort is geared towards achieving the national policy on food security with the state given opportunity for the pilot scheme.

He said the state has signed partnerships with many investors in agriculture, adding that kits on irrigation were being expected soon.

He said bulldozers have already cleared over a million hectares of land for cultivation as planned by the state government.

Bago said farmers in the state would be given the agricultural equipment to boost their production.