US Firm, John Deere to Establish Tractor Assembly Plant in Nigeria

VP Kashim Shettima (middle); Chairman of Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC, John Coumantaros (left); Vice President of Production Systems at John Deere, Jason Brantley (2nd left); Global Public Policy Manager at John Deere, Susan Zimmerman (left); Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari (3rd right); Consul General of Nigeria in New York, Ambassador Lot Egopija (2nd right), and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agricbusiness and Productivity, Dr Kingsley Uzoma (right), when the John Deere Group met with the Vice President in the United States.

A United States-based company, John Deere, has pledged to set up a tractor assembly plant in Nigeria. ⁣

Federal Government’s efforts to attract foreign investments may have begun to yield results, as an American company, John Deere, has resolved to set up a tractor assembly in Nigeria.

The company’s interest to invest in the nation’s agricultural sector was communicated during a meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and top officials of the organisation, led by its Vice President on Production Systems, Jason Brantley.

 The parley, facilitated by Chairman of Flour Mills of Nigeria, John Coumantaros, also had 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, Dr. Kingsley Uzoma, in attendance.

Interacting with investors, Shettima restated Nigeria’s commitment to transforming agriculture as a pathway to tackling insecurity and improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

“Without mechanisation, you can never be truly self-sufficient in food production. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is fully committed to revitalising the Nigerian agricultural sector. And for us to be self-sufficient in food production, three key elements are essential. First is certified seeds, then mechanisation, provision of fertiliser and of course, agricultural extension services,” he noted.

Shettima, who spoke on the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs) project stated: “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 the global community.”

Assuring the investors that the most populous black nation is now open for partnership, the Vice President added:  “The President declared a food security emergency in August this year fundamentally anchored on the fact that we are exposed to all the volatility in the world. We are vulnerable, we are exposed. This is why we are putting in place the mechanisms towards addressing challenges in the sector, and we cannot afford to do otherwise.”

Earlier, Brantley spoke about his organisation’s planned investment in the country, assuring that the project would unlock Nigeria’s agricultural potential, by creating an organised approach to tractor-clearing services for smallholder farmers across the federation.