FG holds onto tractors as hiring cost soars
Most federal government’s tractors and other agricultural equipment aimed at boosting mechanisation have not reached farmers, 11 months after the presidential launch in Abuja. A total of 2,000 tractors were acquired under the federal government’s Renewed Hope National Agricultural Mechanisation Programme, which was supported by a N50 billion catalytic seed fund from the Bank of […]
Most federal government’s tractors and other agricultural equipment aimed at boosting mechanisation have not reached farmers, 11 months after the presidential launch in Abuja.
A total of 2,000 tractors were acquired under the federal government’s Renewed Hope National Agricultural Mechanisation Programme, which was supported by a N50 billion catalytic seed fund from the Bank of Industry.
In June 2025, during the launch of the equipment, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said the country’s collaboration with Belarus resulted in the delivery of the 2,000 state-of-the-art tractors, 10 combined harvesters, 12 mobile workshops and 9,000 agricultural tools, along with essential spare parts.
Projected outcomes include the cultivation of over 550,000 hectares of farmland, production of more than 2 million metric tonnes of staple food, creation of over 16,000 jobs and direct benefits to over 550,000 farming households.
“You don’t have to use an 18th century method for a 21st century agricultural farming implements. This will make farming easier, create jobs and make it ‘sexier’ for our youths,” the president said.
However, most of the tractors remained at the premises of the National Agricultural Seeds Council, Sheda, along the Abuja-Lokoja expressway, still waiting for disbursement since they were supplied over a year ago.
Seven months after the presidential launch, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security bowed to public pressure to flag off the distribution of the tractors to beneficiaries, said to be drawn from the six geopolitical zones of the country.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, said the first tranche of 600 tractors marked the beginning of a phased acceleration, adding: “This will be followed by 750 and 650 tractors, culminating in a nationwide force of 2,000 mechanisation assets.”
In the first phase of the distribution, the minister said thousands of applications were received.
“It is imperative to inform you that over 100,000 applications were received for this first phase alone,” he declared during the exercise.
Sources privy to the process said the Ministry of Agriculture was under significant pressure from multiple stakeholders including members of the parliament, state governors, prominent political figures and influential farmers’ organisations, as well as traditional rulers over the tractors.
Disbursement transferred to BoA
Although the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security officially launched the distribution, the tractors remain largely in their current locations.
A director who prefers to remain anonymous told The Weekend Trust that the ministry has received instructions not to distribute the tractors but transfer them to the Bank of Agriculture, which now has the mandate to handle the process.
The director said the ministry could not, however, give further details on how much each tractor would cost as that is now within the purview of the Bank of Agriculture, adding that the bank reports directly to the presidency, not the ministry, on the matter.
Founded in 1973, the BoA is owned by the federal government through a 60 per cent ownership by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) and 40 per cent by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Distribution model changed
Unlike the earlier plan to distribute the tractors across the country, the conditions for access are now tougher, Weekend Trust gathered.
The bank said it had developed a model that would allow the tractors to be used in full capacity, targeting 1.2 million hectares annually instead of selling to individuals.
Responding to Weekend Trust’s enquiry on the matter, the managing director of the Bank of Agriculture, Mr Ayo Sotinrin, said the tractors were handed over to the bank by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, adding that the tractors were not meant to be given to individual farmers.
“If you give 2,000 tractors to 2,000 farmers, I think you should be worried about the remaining 70 million Nigerian farmers who don’t have access to anything. These are high-capacity tractors, 290-horsepower tractors, which can mechanise the one hectare owned by all these smallholder farmers in literally two hours.
“The rest of the day and the rest of the 364 days of farming, what are they going to do with it? We have changed the model to say that tractors bought by the government are not meant to be free. They are meant to be sold at a massive subsidy to mechanisation service providers. Because they are high-capacity tractors, each tractor should be able to do at least the farms of 600 farmers a year, which is about 600 hectares if you take the rule of thumb that farmers own an average of one hectare of land.
“It means that the 2,000 tractors will be able to do 1.2 million hectares if each does 600 hectares of land. And they will be able to service 1.2 million farmers. As to 2,000 farmers, who cannot manage or maintain the tractor, the government has decided to build mechanisation service stations across the geopolitical zones and one tractor assembling plant to couple the tractors when they bring them in, complete knockdown or semi-knockdown,” he explained.
Mr Sotinrin said that contrary to the N45 million price some farmers speculate, “these tractors are typically meant to be about N100 million or N120 million,” adding that farmers’ complaint that they are being sold at N45 million is unrealistic because ‘even the Chinese knockoffs are not sold at that price.’
Speaking about the current state of disbursement, the managing director said that “about a quarter of those tractors have gone out beyond the fields, mechanising currently.”
He said the bank had also opened up the channel to House of Reps members to buy for their constituencies on one condition: to use them in mechanisation hubs to ensure that these tractors are serviced and used properly.
“We are doing that for the Senate, 109 senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives. They are not buying for their own personal use. They can only buy for the youth and women’s scheme, where we train them on how to use these tractors and they use it to mechanise land for the farmers in the areas.
“Again, we have extended the programme to also include governors: same scheme – buy for the service providers in your state. And we ensure that these tractors are being used by the service providers to provide services to all the farmers in the state.
“There’s no reason, or at any point in time where one farmer should buy one tractor for his own personal use. If they want they can go and buy tractors in the market because it only makes sense if you are a big farmer. It means you are going to be able to afford a tractor. So you should go and buy. You don’t need to go and get a subsidised tractor from the government. A subsidised tractor from the government is for vulnerable farmers and the last-mile farmers. And because we know they cannot use it by themselves, they won’t be able to service it. They won’t be able to optimise the use of the tractor or make it efficient. We have decided to give it to service providers to provide services to them.
“All these tractors are tracked using satellite GPS and GPRS systems. So we know where the tractors are working. We know the amount of work they are doing as well. When we say we track these tractors, it is because a lot of our programme is for typical service providers and also service providers who are youth and women. They will buy the tractor and pay 25 per cent upfront.
“We don’t charge them a monthly fee even though it is a loan because we are refinancing it as a loan. We charge them part of the work they do. So let’s assume that we call it a pay-as-you-go or pay-as-you-work system. If you do some work and earn N200,000, we know that N100,000 will go for your upkeep and the driver and all that. Out of the remaining N100,000, we would request you to pay N60,000. And we spread the payment for that particular service provider over a three to five-year period to enable them use the tractor to work and be able to pay, then you own it outright,” he said.
Similar situation in Katsina, one year after
Following the commissioning of the Katsina State Agricultural Mechanisation Centre by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 2, 2025, the Katsina State Executive Council approved the establishment of Mini Agricultural Mechanisation Centres in all the 34 local government areas of the state. Each mini centre is expected to receive 10 tractors, bringing the total number of tractors to 340 for deployment across the state.
The rollout of the agricultural centres was scheduled to begin during the 2025 rainy season, with the main Agricultural Mechanisation Centre in Katsina serving as the central support hub for all 34 mini-centres.
However, one year later, many farmers are still unaware of the state government’s agricultural support programme. Several farmers revealed that they only saw the new tractors parked at their various local government secretariats rather than being deployed to farms.
Malam Sayyadi Aminu Batagarawa, a local farmer who has been involved in agriculture for over two decades, said he had only seen the tractors lined up at the local government secretariat since last year.
He explained that it was only after making inquiries that he learned what the tractors were meant for, adding that many farmers were still unaware of government’s efforts to ease farming activities for local farmers.
According to him, although he did not see any of the tractors working on farms last year, he remains hopeful that with adequate awareness campaigns, the tractors would become visible on farmers’ fields during this year’s wet season.
Another farmer, Kabir Umar, said he saw some new tractors at the Katsina Local Government Secretariat and was told that anyone interested in benefitting from the programme should indicate interest through one of the councillors. He said he did so, but up till now, he has not been contacted, even as the wet season commences.
But one year after President Tinubu inaugurated the Katsina Agricultural Mechanisation Centre, expectations remain high over whether the ambitious programme can truly transform farming, improve food production and lift thousands of smallholder farmers out of poverty as many farmers remain in the dark about the initiative.
During the launch of the programme in 2025, the Katsina State governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, said the intervention was introduced as part of efforts to modernise agriculture and reduce dependence on traditional farming methods that have dominated rural communities for decades.
However, according to Malam Aminu Sanda, farmers in communities around Dutsin-Ma, Kafur, Funtua and Daura believe that although the state government initiative received poor publicity, effective implementation would increase farmers’ access to tractors, reduce the burden of manual labour and help many farmers cultivate larger portions of land within a shorter period.
“We used to spend several days preparing farmlands manually, but if these tractors are released and allowed to operate properly without political interference, farmers would be able to complete the work within hours,” Malam Sanda said.
Agricultural experts said the mechanisation programme represented one of the biggest state-led investments in farming in recent years, especially in a region where agriculture remains the primary source of livelihood for millions of people. However, they warned that officials must work harder to ensure adequate publicity for the programme so that it can address the issues it was established to solve.
According to an agricultural economist, Mr Epram Gidogo, despite the optimism surrounding the project, several concerns have continued to emerge, one year after its launch. He said the major issues included awareness, sustainability and affordability.
He explained that the long-term success of the programme would depend largely on public awareness, proper maintenance of the machines, availability of spare parts and efficient management.
Cost of tractor hiring soars in states
Our correspondent in Lafia, Nasarawa State, reports that the cost of hiring tractor services has risen sharply as the rainy season takes full effect, raising concerns among farmers who say the rates are becoming difficult to afford.
With fuel prices remaining high across the country, operators have adjusted their charges to cover operational cost. The increase means that many smallholder farmers in the state may struggle to access mechanised services at a time when timely land preparation is critical for crop yield.
Some farmers confirmed the development, noting that the current rates are not acceptable or affordable for everyone. They said the situation could affect planting schedules and overall productivity if support measures were not introduced.
Farmers in the state also said the cost of hiring tractors had more than doubled following the recent hike in fuel price, making land preparation unaffordable for many ahead of peak planting.
A farmer, Ali Hassan Gandu in Lafia Local Government Area, told our correspondent that a litre of diesel now sells at N2,000 and above, pushing operational cost higher for tractor owners and customers alike.
“Before, when you hire a tractor, the fuel you needed to work with would not exceed N900 per litre, but now, a litre is N2,000 and above. Everything has completely doubled,” he said.
According to Gandu, a land that previously cost N40,000 to work now goes for N60,000 to N70,000. Even farm weeding has become more expensive, with jobs that cost N100,000 now priced at N150,000.
Another farmer, Paul Isaac of Akwanga Local Government Area, said the situation had left farmers at a disadvantage as the rainy season reaches its peak. He cited the case of a friend in Moro and Jidda who declined to hire a tractor after receiving a quote and resorted to manual labour instead.
“He had to decline the cost they gave him. What he did was to use manual labourers; and that cost him much. The logistics were too much on him because of fueling and the fee to hire the tractor. I think it is a challenge to farmers this season,” Isaac said.
According to Isaac, hiring charges now range between N100,000 and N150,000 per day for farms with good road access and short distances. Where tractors must be transported on heavy-duty vehicles to reach farmland, cost can rise to between N200,000 and N300,000 per day.
He called on both the state and federal governments to intervene by subsidising tractor services to reduce the burden on farmers.
“I think it requires government’s intervention through subsidising such things to the farmers to at least cushion the effect because the farmers are the ones on the receiving end,” he said.
Farmers use oxen ploughs in Taraba
The high cost of tractor services has forced many farmers in Taraba State to resort to the use of oxen (cows) to plough their farms.
Findings revealed that charges for tractor services this farming season have tripled those of last year.
Our correspondent in Jalingo gathered that tractor operators now charge N120, 000 per hectare, but last year, the charge was only N32,000 per hectare.
Farmers are weighing the cost implications of tractor services, vis-à-vis the poor price of farm produce, making majority of the farmers to opt for the use of the cow plough, which costs less.
Tanko Andami, chairman of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria in the state, told Weekend Trust that going by the cost of farm input, including fertiliser, chemicals and tractor services, farmers would hardly recover what they invest in the farm.
According to him, presently, tractor operators are charging N120,000 per hectare and the same hectare will not yield a profit worth N50,000 after harvest.
He explained that a bag of NPK and Urea fertiliser cost between N42,000 and N52,000, adding that there is also the cost of seedlings and labour, as well as transporting farm produce from the farm to the house or store, which has to take account after harvest.
Tanko explained that many farmers, especially small-scale ones, would no longer be able to use tractors on their farms.
He said the cost of diesel was responsible for the high cost of tractor services this cropping season, and there is no indication that the price would come down.
He said farmers’ decision to opt for cow plough would reduce agricultural productivity this year because it works very slowly when compared to a tractor.
The paramount ruler of Mutum Biyu in Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State, Alhaji Sani Suleiman Muhammed, said even those who have personal tractors would have to reduce the number of hours of working with their tractors on their farms.
He said a 25-litre gallon of diesel costs between N60,000 and N70,000 and one needs between two and three jerry-cans of diesel to work a full day with a tractor.
He said that with the current price of diesel and other farm inputs, it would be difficult for any farmer to make profit from farming activities.
The monarch asserted that many farmers would be forced to reduce their activities while many would limit their operations to what they could feed their families.
He, however, called on northern governors to do something urgently and save farming from collapsing.
“We need to tell ourselves that farmers are facing a difficult situation; they invest so much in the farm and make very little after harvest.
“The cost of diesel, chemicals, fertiliser and labour, as well as transporting farm produce from the farm to the house, costs a lot and the price of farm produce is very poor,” he lamented.
Ali Maihula, a large-scale farmer in Bali Local Government Area, told Weekend Trust that many farmers in his area opted for cow plough services in their farms as a result of high charges of tractor services.
He said that in previous years, it was tractors that worked in almost all the farms, but now, cow ploughs are engaged in farms everywhere. He said that where a tractor operator charged N200,000, cow ploughs could work at N70,000 per day.
According to him, the only difference is that tractors work faster and their work is more effective compared to the cow plough.
“In the Maihula area and many parts of Bali Local Government Area, oxen plough has replaced the services of tractors because it is cheaper,” he said.
Dauda Saidu, a tractor operator, told Weekend Trust that there is low patronage from farmers this cropping season because of high charges. He said a tractor operator would charge high because of the increase in the price of diesel and spare parts.
He said a litre of diesel now costs between N2100 and N2200, while the cost of tractor spare parts has tripled compared to the price of last year.
Dauda said many owners of commercial tractors sold their equipment at giveaway prices because of low patronage being experienced this year.
Across Benue State, our correspondent reports that farmers in the state are lamenting the rising cost of hiring tractor services for land preparation as the rainy season gathers momentum across the state.
The chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Benue State, Ernest Atoji, said the sharp increase in the cost of diesel and maintenance of tractors made mechanised farming difficult for many local farmers.
A big farmer, Vitalis Tarnongu, also said the soaring cost of diesel and tractor spare parts created anxiety among farmers already struggling with economic hardship.
He explained that the cost of ploughing currently ranged between N65,000 and N75,000, while harrowing would cost between N40,000 and N50,000.
“I completely understand the concern of farmers. The cost of everything, especially diesel and tractor spare parts, has skyrocketed this season. Now that the rains are fully here, farmers are rushing to prepare their lands and the pressure on the few available tractors in Makurdi is very high,” he said.
An agricultural expert, Dr Teryima Iorlamen, attributed the increase in tractor hiring services largely to the rising cost of diesel, which he said now sells at N2,200 per litre in some areas.
Some farmers like Robert Owiocho, who spoke with our correspondent, expressed fear that if the situation persists, many big farmers may reduce the size of farmland they cultivate this season due to the high cost of mechanised farming.
Meanwhile, the manager of Hello Tractor, Mary Ehi Agbo, said, “Our standard prices in Benue for the different tractor services are as follows: ploughing – N70,000 per hectare; harrowing, N65,000 per hectare and ridging, N65,000 per hectare.”
Kwara farmers cut land size
As the rainy season gets underway across Kwara State, many farmers are battling rising cost of tractor services driven largely by the increase in fuel prices and other operational expenses.
The development is already forcing some growers to reduce the size of the land they intend to cultivate this season.
The national vice president of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Ajibola Tajudeen, said the situation had become difficult for small and medium-scale farmers who depend heavily on hired tractors for land preparation.
According to him, the average cost of ploughing one hectare in parts of Kwara currently stands at N50,000 for a single operation.
“In our locality, one hectare today goes for an average of N50,000 for one operation. It is becoming too expensive for farmers,” he said.
Tajudeen blamed the rising charges on high fuel cost, inadequate government’s support and the limited number of publicly-owned tractors available to farmers across the state.
He argued that many of the tractors provided under government programmes are either insufficient or inaccessible to ordinary farmers during peak farming periods.
“If each local government has only a few tractors and thousands of farmers need land preparation at the same time, it becomes impossible to meet demand,” he said.
The AFAN leader added that the situation was forcing many farmers to cut down on cultivation this season despite favourable rainfall projections.
“Some farmers can cultivate 30 or 40 hectares, but because of the cost of tractor hiring and other farm inputs, they have reduced the size of their farms,” he noted.
He said that aside the cost, farmers are also struggling with high prices of fertilisers, agrochemicals and improved seeds.
He noted that despite huge investments made during cultivation, farmers often faced unstable produce prices at harvest, making it difficult to recover production cost.
Tajudeen also expressed concern over the difficulty farmers face in accessing loans to purchase tractors or other mechanised equipment.
According to him, commercial bank interest rates, ranging between 20 and 25 per cent, make tractor ownership unrealistic for most farmers and cooperatives.
“Today, a new tractor costs between N50 million and N75 million, depending on capacity. With high bank interest rates, repayment becomes extremely difficult because tractors are mostly used during land preparation periods,” he said.
Findings by Weekend Trust showed that tractor hiring charges vary across communities and according to terrain, farm size and bargaining arrangements between operators and farmers.
A farmer, Aliyu Mohammed, said rates were not always fixed, noting that operators often negotiate charges after inspecting the farmland.
Another resident familiar with tractor operations, Usman Mahmud, explained that lowland farms would usually attract higher charges than upland areas because of the heavier nature of the soil.
“The lowland is more expensive because of the clay and stress involved,” he said.
Mahmud added that many operators did not rely on exact measurements as charges are often based on visual assessment and negotiations with farmers.
“Usually, what they do is that when the operators get to the farm, they just use their eyes to gauge it. Then they will charge you, negotiate and then agree. That’s the usual practice here. It is not like they have a fixed rate. And it varies from tractor owner to operator,” he added.
The rising cost comes despite recent efforts by the Kwara State Government to improve access to mechanised farming through tractor distribution and agricultural support programmes.
Recently, the state government distributed 16 tractors to the 16 local government areas under the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) initiative aimed at boosting food security and improving farmers’ access to mechanised services.
The government said the intervention formed part of broader efforts to strengthen agricultural production, especially among women and youth farmers.
The administration has also repeatedly highlighted ongoing collaboration with the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation (NCAM) and other agencies to deepen mechanised farming and train tractor operators across the state.
However, some farmers insist that demand for tractors during peak planting periods still far outweighs available supply, especially in rural farming communities.
Dire situation in Kogi
Indication has emerged that many farmers in Kogi State may not acquire the services of tractors on their farms this wet season due to spike in hiring prices.
Our correspondent reports that hiring tractors, which are usually in bad condition, has jumped from N300,000 in 2025 to N600,000 in 2026. And many farmers are raising issues of bad condition and payment of huge sum of N1.2 milion to put the tractors in good shape for operation.
A farmer from Ajaokuta said: “In 2025, I managed to acquire the services of a tractor from the state government with the sum of N300,000, with the cost of repairs and fueling on me . The experience was not really palatable as the tractor was constantly breaking down while in use.
“I had to discontinue processing my application for tractor hiring this year when I was instructed to pay N600,000.
“Many of us could not access tractors for our farming activities this year because of increase in the price of hiring services and bad condition of the equipment. You need additional money to put them in good shape,” Abdullahi said.
Contributions from Magaji lsa Hunkuyi (Jalingo), Hope Abah (Makurdi), Abubakar Abdullahi (Lafia), Ibrahim Musa Giginyu (Katsina), Mumini Abdulkareem (Ilorin) & Tijani Labaran (Lokoja)