President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has officially launched 2,000 tractors as part of Nigeria’s most ambitious agricultural mechanization effort to date under the Renewed Hope Agriculture Mechanization Programme (HEDA).

The initiative, which also includes 9,000 specialized farming implements, aims to transform farming practices and improve food security across the country.

This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, in a statement posted on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, June 23, 2025.

According to the statement, President Tinubu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to revolutionizing the agricultural sector, reminding Nigerians of his 2023 declaration of an agricultural emergency to achieve food security and national sovereignty.

“Two years ago, we made a promise when we came in on a Renewed Hope agricultural program. Then I declared an emergency in Agriculture towards achieving food security and sovereignty, which is the bedrock of any prosperous nation,” Tinubu said.

“We envision Nigeria as a global power supplying quality farm products around the world. We are just beginning. We will do more. These modern implements will make farming easier and more sexy. We don’t have to use 18th-century methods for a 21st-century farming system. Nigeria must seek to achieve full agricultural independence and food security. Let history record this day as the beginning of Nigeria’s Agricultural renewal.”

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The equipment, delivered under the Nigeria-Belarus partnership, is part of a multi-billion-dollar agreement signed in 2024 and represents the largest agricultural mechanization rollout in the country’s history.

In February 2025, the Federal Government took delivery of the first batch of Belarusian tractors.

At the time, President Tinubu had approved the purchase of 2,000 tractors from Belarus, a move designed to strengthen mechanization ahead of the wet season farming period.

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, during an unannounced inspection visit to the delivery site, confirmed steady progress on the initiative.

“We are excited that we have received more than 30%. As we were leaving, another two trucks just arrived,” he said.

“The tractors would be deployed for the 2025 wet season farming. We have enough spare parts for the next four years. We will train youths in 774 LGAs.”

Kyari expressed satisfaction with the ongoing implementation, revealing that over 200 containers with tractors and related implements have landed in Lagos, with around 20 more currently en route to Abuja.

“Today alone, we have successfully taken delivery of five containers, each carrying three tractors, making a total of 15 tractors in this batch,” he noted.

Under the agreement, 2,000 tractors are being deployed, each paired with a total of 9,072 assorted agricultural implements.

The equipment includes four tractor models: 90-horsepower (2-wheel drive), 90-horsepower (4-wheel drive), 80-horsepower (2-wheel drive), and 80-horsepower (4-wheel drive), with 500 units of each to meet different farming conditions across Nigeria.

Kyari emphasized that this rollout is a direct fulfillment of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which places agricultural mechanization at the heart of national food security and rural economic transformation.

To ensure maximum reach and sustainability, the government has adopted three distribution models: direct purchase for individuals and organizations; a leasing scheme for affordable, short-term access; and a service provider model that sets up tractor service hubs within farming communities, giving smallholder farmers the ability to lease equipment when needed.

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