By Paul Effiong, Abuja
Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture, BOA, Ayo Sotinrin has unveiled an ambitious nationwide agricultural mechanisation.
Sotinrin disclosed this while addressing Journalists yesterday at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja.
He stated further that the initiative would significantly boost productivity as well as reduce subsistence farming fpr the purpose of creating viable sustainable agricultural value chains across Nigeria.
BOA boss maintained that the programme is aimed at transforming Nigeria’s farming sector through service-based tractor operations, farmer aggregation along with massive large-scale infrastructure development.
Earlier in his presentation, the Bank representative explained that rather than distributing tractors to a few privileged farmers, the Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu had adopted a mechanization service-provider model to enable practising farmers allows tractors to serve thousands of farmers collectively.
On the production capacity, he disclosed that each tractor can mechanize up to 600 hectares annually, meaning that the initial batch of 2,000 tractors would cover about 1.2 million hectares of farmland annually.
The bank further expressed optimism on the workability of the project noting that the second phase is expected to double coverage to 2.4 million hectares of land.
The BOA boss while filding in questions from Journalists maintained that the initiative is designed as a revolving investment scheme where farm products and Proceeds generated from tractor services would be reinvested into acquiring more agricultural equipments and more hectares.
He, however, stressed that his bank was not a philantropic organisation that distributes free assets to people but added that beneficiaries under the House of Representatives constituency arrangement would pay outright for the tractors at subsidized and token rate.
He, informed that most imported tractors currently cost above N90 million in the open market, pointing out that the scheme will provides beneficiaries with between N43 million and N50 million.
On agricultural financing, BOA helmsman disclosed that his bank will shift from direct microcredit distribution to supporting farmer aggregation companies that already work with thousands of smallholder farmers across Nigeria.
He, however, informed that BOA is currently providing financing to aggregators at a single-digit interest rate of only 9% compared to other commercial bank rates of 35%.
Consequently, the Bank also used the opportunity of the media briefing to announce plans for the establishment of a Belarus-backed tractor assembly and manufacturing hub in the Federal Capital Territory in no distance time.
On the sustainability of the programme, BOA boss emphasized that it’s one of the largest mechanization programme in Africa’s history.
