The Bank of Agriculture (BoA) is collaborating with six tractor companies in the country to procure 400 tractors and other farming implements for mechanised farming.

    The Managing Director of the Bank, Mohammed Santuraki, stated this in Kaduna when he visited one of the tractor companies, Tak Continental Limited.

    He said the bank had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to access N6 billion for mechanised farming in the country.

    Santuraki said the bank would also inject 35 percent of the amount as its contribution while the 80 service support centres to be established would also make contributions.

    According to him, the bank would build a vendor financier relationship with the tractor companies, to supply tractors and other services to the support stations.

    He explained that the new stations would offer tractors services and other technical support to farmers at reasonable costs.

    He said was to increase productivity and food security in the country, make agriculture more attractive and helps to reduce the cost of farm labour.

    “it is shameful that 60 percent of Nigerians are engaged in agriculture, yet the country imports $12 billion worth of food every year,” he said.

    Santuraki said mechanised farming would cut down on the numbers of Nigerians in agriculture, who could make more useful contributions in other sectors of the economy.