Many Nigerian farmers and rice millers are unable to take advantage of the Federal Government’s agricultural mechanisation programme because they cannot afford the required equipment, according to the National Chairman of the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria, Peter Dama.
He said the problem was not the availability of machinery but the lack of financial capacity among farmers and processors to purchase or access the equipment.
According to him, the current economic conditions and the rising cost of machinery have discouraged many farmers from participating in the programme.
He explained that many operators simply cannot afford to purchase tractors and other farm equipment because prices have risen sharply.
Dama called on the government to place greater attention on affordable technologies that would directly benefit smallholder farmers. He recommended wider distribution of solar powered irrigation pumps and compact tilling machines that consume less fuel and are easier to maintain.
He noted that these smaller machines are already gaining popularity, adding that manufacturers from China and Japan have introduced equipment that is more suitable for the needs of small scale farmers.
Speaking on the performance of the rice milling industry, Dama said larger operators were under severe pressure as production expenses continued to increase. He observed that smaller millers were coping better because they operate with lower overhead costs.
He identified electricity, petrol and diesel expenses as some of the biggest cost drivers affecting rice processors across the country.
The association chairman also expressed concern over the impact of the new national minimum wage on businesses, saying many employers were finding it difficult to meet higher salary obligations while dealing with rising operating costs.
He questioned how businesses with dozens of workers could sustain payment of the approved wage level in the face of declining earnings and increasing expenses.
On access to tractors, Dama said financing remained the biggest obstacle for most farmers. He explained that only financially strong farmers or cooperatives operating within the same geographical area could realistically benefit from tractor financing arrangements.
He noted that while cooperatives are often encouraged to pool resources, such arrangements become difficult when members are spread across different states because the equipment cannot easily serve everyone.
According to him, associations with members in states such as Niger, Enugu, Cross River and Kaduna cannot effectively share a single tractor even if they contribute jointly toward its purchase.
He maintained that limited access to finance remains the biggest factor preventing widespread participation in mechanised farming across the country.
President Bola Tinubu introduced the Renewed Hope National Agricultural Mechanisation Programme in June 2025, unveiling 2,000 tractors, 10 combine harvesters, 12 mobile workshops and more than 9,000 farm implements acquired through a partnership with Belarus.
The Federal Government said the initiative would operate through service providers instead of direct ownership by farmers. It projected that the programme would support more than 550,000 farming households, cultivate over 500,000 hectares annually and strengthen national food production.
Although the equipment was unveiled in June 2025, distribution did not begin immediately. The Federal Government later assigned implementation of the programme to the Bank of Agriculture, which said the delay was necessary to establish a transparent system covering allocation, maintenance and repayment.
The bank later opened applications for mechanisation service providers, receiving more than 100,000 expressions of interest before commencing distribution under the programme in February 2026.
