An American company, John Deere, has agreed to set up a tractor assembly plant in Nigeria.
Details of the company’s interest to invest in Nigeria’s agricultural sector were made known during a meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and top officials of John Deere led by its Vice President on Production Systems, Jason Brantley.
The meeting facilitated by the Chairman of Flour Mills of Nigeria, John Coumantaros, also had in attendance the Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari; Consul-General of Nigeria in New York, Ambassador Lot Egopija, and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness and Productivity, Kingsley Uzoma, among others.
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Speaking during the interaction with the investors, Vice President Shettima said Nigeria is committed to transforming agriculture as a pathway to tackling insecurity and improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.
Shettima who spoke on the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones, SAPZs project stated that “it is designed to provide the infrastructure, platform and framework for the private sector to add value to Nigeria’s agricultural produce for the domestic, regional markets and for the global community.”
Assuring the investors that Nigeria is now open for partnership, the Vice President said President Bola Tinubu is very eager to see that the full potential of the Nigerian agricultural sector is realised.
Brantley spoke about the company’s proposed investment in Nigeria, assuring that the project will unlock Nigeria’s agricultural potential by creating an organised approach to tractor-clearing services for smallholder farmers across the country.
According to the John Deere top executive, the initiative to establish tractor assembly would require zero investment from the government, while credit guarantees will be needed to help make credit available at an affordable rate for interested persons or groups.
Brantley expressed the company’s readiness to immediately engage relevant authorities in Nigeria, with a view to actualising the objective of establishing the assembly plant.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
