FG tractors deal, John Deere yet to deliver, raises concern over promises

A year after the Nigerian government entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a renowned agricultural equipment manufacturer, John Deere to supply 10,000 tractors into the country's mechanization to enhance food productivity has remains unfulfilled. 

There was a clear indication the MOU may have been jettisoned for a fresh deal that was signed last week in the Minister's office with the same company.

It was in the daily news that a new procurement contract of $70 million was signed with a sale dealer representing John Deere in Nigeria, and the deal covers tractors including plows, harrows, ridges and 100 harvesters with the first batch expected before 2025 wet planting season. 

Recall that all the initial promises of a timely delivery of 2,000 tractors yearly to complete ten thousand was in no way forth coming as no one was officially delivered by John Deere as regards the initial MOU.

Remember in the year 2024, the FG hailed the deal with John Deere as a major step toward addressing the country's agricultural challenges, including low mechanization and food insecurity pointing that " The  tractors are expected to empower local farmers, increase crop yields, and contribute to the long-term goal of food sustainability"

However, as of January 2025, Food Farm News sources confirm that the promises outlined in the MOU have not been met.

A stakeholder who wanted to remain anonymous told us that there is a need for Nigeria to rethink its strategy for agricultural mechanization by looking inwards with affordable simple tools from National Agricutural Mechanization Centre ( NCAM) saying " the time has come to invest more on our internal companies"

He argued that the delay in delivery by John Deere was a pointer to the fact that our local companies must be encouraged to produce simple mechanization tools towards enhanced food productivity.

The anonymous said " As the clock ticks, the government faces mounting pressure to deliver on its promises, with calls for increased investment in local manufacturing capabilities and a more sustainable approach to agricultural mechanization that foster the growth of indigenous institutions like NCAM could be a critical step toward ensuring that Nigerian farmers have the necessary tools to work"

Recall that the Agric Minister, Abubakar Kyari in one of the meetings with John Deere sometimes last year stressed the urgency to use delivery of these tractors to overcome our food productivity challenges.

Also, the minister emphasized the necessity of ramping up tractors' availability to a total of 70,000 units to drive the country's transition to mechanized farming, saying the slow progress was currently bordering President Tinubu, and that was why MOU was signed with John Deere company towards supplying 2,000 tractors annually for cultivations expansion.

However last week, a fresh $70 million deal of the same contract was signed in the Minister's office with John Deere as National Agricutural Development Fund ( NADF) is now the implementing government agency.