NOA says Tinubu’s agric interventions have created 60,000 jobs

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) says the renewed hope agricultural mechanisation programme (RHAMP), will address low productivity, food inflation, and post-harvest losses.

In its weekly publication, the agency said the president’s agricultural interventions have created 60,000 jobs as of June 2025.

According to the NOA, the RHAMP was built on four pillar approaches, such as mechanisation and tech adoption, rural infrastructure development, youth engagement, and international partnerships.

The RHAMP was launched on June 23, with the commissioning of 2,000 tractors and 9,022 specialised implements — “the largest single mechanisation drive in Nigeria’s history”.

“The equipment includes; 2,000 high-quality tractors (500 units each of 80HP 2WD, 80HP 4WD, 90HP 2WD, and 90HP 4WD variants), 10 combine harvesters, 50 industrial-grade bulldozers, 12 mobile workshops, 9,000 implements (disc ploughs, harrows, ridgers, trailers, seed drills, boom sprayers),” NOA said.

The agency said the equipment also included “9,000 spare part kits implemented through a partnership with Belarus under a 2024-2029 bilateral agreement, the programme adopts a service-provider model to ensure smallholder farmers’ access to mechanisation via leasing and cooperative schemes”.

“The initiative is projected to cultivate 550,000 hectares of farmland, produce over 2 million metric tons of staple crops, create 16,000 direct jobs, and benefit 550,000 farming households.”

According to the report, Abubakar Kyari, minister of agriculture and food security, emphasised that the RHAMP will increase Nigeria’s mechanisation rate from 0.27 horsepower per hectare to 2.5 horsepower per hectare, matching global averages.

“The programme incorporates global positioning system (GPS) tracking for equipment monitoring, mandatory operator training and allocations to research institutions to spur innovation,” the minister was quoted as saying.

‘FOOD PRICES, EXPORT PLANS, AND STORAGE SOLUTIONS’

Speaking further, the NOA said the Belarus partnership includes future phases for constructing grain storage complexes, “a critical gap in Nigeria’s agricultural value chain where 30 percent of grains are lost to poor storage”.

“The administration has also incentivised private sector investments in processing through tax breaks and import duty waivers on agro-processing equipment,” the NOA said.

“The Belarus partnership exemplifies President Tinubu’s strategy of leveraging international cooperation for agricultural modernisation.

“Beyond equipment supply, the partnership involves technology transfer, the establishment of service centres, and future local assembly plants.

“The administration is negotiating preferential trade agreements for Nigerian agricultural products.

“Food prices have declined steadily since the first quarter of 2025 after 2024 peaks. Over 550,000 hectares cultivated under mechanisation programmes.”

The agency added that the interventions of the current administration in the agricultural sector will promote food security and economic growth, while empowering farmers.