Federal Government yesterday commenced the phased distribution of 2,000 tractors flagged off in June 2025 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu under the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme.

The Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, flagged off the distribution in Sheda, Gwagwalada, Abuja, disclosing that the rollout would be done in phases, beginning with 600 tractors, followed by 750 and 650 units, culminating in a nationwide deployment of 2,000 mechanisation assets.

According to the minister, more than 100,000 applications were received for the first phase alone, describing the response as a demonstration of confidence in the programme. He explained that the tractors would not be distributed for private ownership but entrusted to mechanisation service providers under a lease-to-own arrangement.

Each tractor, he noted, had the capacity to service approximately 600 hectares per year,adding that the intervention was expected to impact about 1.2 million farmers and cover over 1.5 million hectares yearly.

The minister disclosed that the programme included the deployment of over 9,000 precision implements, two years of free service support for each tractor, and the rollout of 36 mobile service trucks to provide technical response.

He further revealed plans to establish seven mega mechanisation service centres nationwide and a tractor assembly plant with the capacity to produce between 2,000 and 4,000 tractors yearly.