The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FNARD) says it has facilitated access to N2billion credit facility for 80 agricultural equipment-hiring centre operators to be deployed to 29 states.
Agric Minister Dr Akinwumi Adesina, made this known in Abuja yesterday at an interactive session with agricultural equipment-hiring centres bid winners across the country.
Adesina said food import bill had declined from N 1.1 trillion ($ 6.9 billion) in 2009 to N 684.7 billion ($4.35 billion) by December 2013 and continued to decline in 2014.
The minister attributed the development to the successful implementation of Agriculture Transformation Agenda of the present administration.
He said government had boosted food production by an additional 21 million tons of food within the past three years.
The minister said in spite of the devaluation of the naira and the massive decline in price of crude oil, food prices had been relatively stable due to increased domestic food production.
According to him, Nigeria must rapidly mechanise its agricultural sector, taking hoes and cutlasses out of the farms and replacing them with tractors.
“Today, gathered here are the successful bid winners for the 80 agricultural equipment-hiring centres to be deployed to the 29 states as a first phase of the programme.
“The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has facilitated access of each of these service operators to a credit facility of N26 million each, without any of you visiting a bank.
“This is to demonstrate the seriousness with which we take this programme; each of the agricultural equipment enterprise centres will cost an average of N35 million,’’ he said.
Adesina said each of the operators would only need to provide 20 per cent of the cost as equity.
According to him, the balance will be spread over 48 months with seven per cent interest and two years moratorium.
He advised the operators to provide quality and affordable mechanisation services to farmers across the country.
Adesina said President Goodluck Jonathan had approved the provision of N50 billion agricultural mechanisation funds to establish 1,200 agricultural equipment-hiring enterprises in the next three years.
He explained that it would support the mechanisation of an additional four million hectares of land and other farming operations.
Under the programme, 6,000 units of Tractors and Power Tillers, 13,000 units of various harvest and post-harvest equipment would be deployed across the country between now and next year, Adesina said.
The minister said government had package a programme for NYSC members to practice agriculture as a business, saying that mechanisation would attract youths to the sector.
Also speaking, acting Managing Director of Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Mr Babatunde Sadiku, thanked the minister for entrusting the bank with funds.
He said the bank was in a position to work hard to deliver on the task for the best of Nigeria’s agriculture sector.

The New Bonny Women’s Hall constructed and commissioned as constituency project by Hon Aye A. Pepple Photo: Egberi A. Sampson.