By Ebenezer Mabinuola
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday, June 23, 2025, launched the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme, commissioning 2,000 tractors and related equipment to transform Nigeria’s food systems and rural economy.
The event, held at the National Agricultural Seeds Council in Sheda, Abuja, marks a major leap toward food self-sufficiency.
“This is a promise fulfilled,” Tinubu declared, describing the scheme as the first phase of Nigeria’s agricultural revolution. Under a service-provider model, the tractors will target smallholder farmers, aiming to reduce manual labour and enhance productivity.
The initiative, supported by AfTrade DMCC and the Republic of Belarus, includes:
- 2,000 tractors
- 10 combine harvesters
- 12 mobile workshops
- 9,000 implements and spare parts
Tinubu credited Belarus and Alex Sigman, a former University of Chicago classmate, for facilitating the partnership. He lauded the collaboration as a symbol of shared global progress.
Agriculture Minister Abubakar Kyari called it Nigeria’s largest mechanisation drive, projected to cultivate 550,000 hectares, yield over 2 million metric tons of food, and create 16,000 jobs.
Key features include GPS tracking, mandatory training, and repayment plans to ensure transparency and sustainability. Research institutions will also receive free equipment.
Belarusian Deputy PM Viktor Karankevich praised Tinubu’s vision and confirmed further collaboration, including tractor assembly plants, grain silos, and training centres in Nigeria.
With dignitaries and farmers in attendance, Tinubu proclaimed: “Nigeria has the land, the people, and now, the tools. Let the renaissance begin.”
