American company, John Deere, has disclosed plans to set up a tractor assembly plant in Nigeria, following the visit of Vice President Kashim Shettima to the United States.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
Mr. Nkwocha said, the details of the company’s interest to invest in Nigeria’s agricultural sector were made known during a meeting between the VP and top officials of John Deere led by its Vice President on Production Systems, Mr Jason Brantley.
He said, the meeting facilitated by the Chairman of Flour Mills of Nigeria, Mr John Coumantaros, also had in attendance the Minister of Agriculture, Sen. Abubakar Kyari; the Consul General of Nigeria in New York, Ambassador Lot Egopija, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness and Productivity, Dr Kingsley Uzoma, among others.
Nkwocha said, while speaking during the interaction with the investors, the Vice President said, Nigeria was committed to transforming agriculture as a pathway to tackling insecurity and improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.
“Without mechanization, you can never be truly self-sufficient in food production. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is fully committed to revitalizing the Nigerian agricultural sector. And for us to be self-sufficient in food production, three key elements are essential. First is certified seeds, then mechanization, provision of fertilizer, and course, agricultural extension services,” he noted.
The VP who spoke on the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs) project stated that “it is designed to provide the infrastructure, platform, and framework for the private sector to add value to Nigeria’s agricultural produce for the domestic, regional market and the global community.”
Assuring the investors that Nigeria is now open for partnership, Sen. Shettima said, “We are open for discussions, for conversations towards fast-tracking the whole process. My principal, the President, is very eager to see that the full potential of the Nigerian agricultural sector is realised.
“The President declared a food security emergency in August this year fundamentally anchored on the fact that we are exposed to all the volatility in the world. We are vulnerable, we are exposed. This is why we are putting in place the mechanisms towards addressing challenges in the sector and we cannot afford to do otherwise”.
Earlier, Mr. Brantley spoke about the company’s proposed investment in Nigeria, assuring that the project will unlock Nigeria’s agricultural potential by creating an organised approach to tractor-clearing services for smallholder farmers across the country.
According to the John Deere top executive, the initiative to establish tractor assembly would require zero investment from the government, while credit guarantees will be needed to help make credit available at an affordable rate for interested persons or groups.
Mr Brantley expressed the company’s readiness to immediately engage relevant authorities in Nigeria, with a view to actualising the objective of establishing the assembly plant.
