By Fatima Haruna (9News Nigeria Maiduguri)
Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has advocated a shift away from tractor ownership and other conventional agricultural inputs toward service-based mechanisation to improve Nigeria’s farm productivity.
Speaking on Wednesday at a High-Level National Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Mechanisation in Abuja, organised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Zulum said the country must stop focusing solely on buying tractors and instead build a modern, investment-driven agricultural system.
The governor identified low productivity, limited technology, inadequate investment and weak value chains as key constraints facing the sector.
“Mechanisation should be delivered as a service,” Zulum said, adding that farmers need timely access to land preparation, precision farming, irrigation and other modern technologies, not just ownership of equipment.
He stressed that Nigeria must not “recreate the agriculture of yesterday” but instead build one that is “modern, smart, climate-resilient, productive and inclusive.”
Outlining Borno’s model, Zulum said his administration’s heavy investment in agriculture is central to restoring livelihoods and communities displaced by insurgency.
He proposed a four-point framework for national adoption, mechanising to boost productivity and reduce drudgery; digitalising to improve precision and efficiency; regenerating resources for sustainability; and investing in infrastructure, technology and enterprises.
Zulum also urged stronger private-sector involvement and innovative financing for local manufacturing of machinery, irrigation systems, renewable energy, storage, processing, and for youth- and women-led agribusinesses.
“The goal is to build an agricultural economy that can feed the nation, compete globally, create jobs and deliver prosperity to rural communities,” he added.
