The National Chairman of Tractor Owners and Hiring Facilities Association of Nigeria (TOHFAN), Danladi Garba, yesterday lamented that Nigeria had only 7,000 functional tractors, which according to him, could not meet the demands of the farmers in the country.
Garba, who stated this at the maiden edition of Nigerian Agricultural Mechanisation Exhibition 2022 in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, said that Nigeria needed at least one million tractors to achieve mechanisation of the agricultural sector.
The exhibition, with the theme: “Redefining Agricultural Mechanisation To Enhance Food Security And Boost Agribusiness,” was organised by Hephzibah Nigeria Ltd to address the challenges of mechanisation of the agricultural sector.
According to the TOHFAN Chairman, 65 per cent of Nigerian farmers still engage in subsistence farming, while 25 per cent of farmers make use of animals for farming activities.
He lamented that only 10 per cent of Nigerian farmers engage in mechanised farming, noting that the problem of inadequate farming equipment for farmers has prevented Nigeria from attaining sufficiency in food production.
However, the Director-General of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni, said Nigeria must collaborate with other countries to achieve sufficiency in food production.
