Vice President Kashim Shettima will on Sunday formally unveil the National Asset Restoration programme in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The programme commences with the take-off of the National Agency for Science and Engineering (NASENI)’s Tractor Recovery Project.
NASENI’s initiative seeks to boost mechanised agriculture and enhance food security in fulfilment of the federal government’s Renewed Hope Agenda by reviving broken-down or non-functional tractors.
The event, which will take place at the Borno State Agricultural Mechanisation (BOSAMAN) Farm Centre.
The project, fully funded, supervised and executed by NASENI is carried out with support from the agency’s technical partner, Machine and Equipment Corporation Africa Limited (MECA), and aimed at contributing meaningfully to the federal government’s recovery and development agenda.
In a statement, Director of Information, NASENI, Olusegun Ayeoyenikan, said the vice president who is the eminent guest of honour at the occasion will perform the launch ceremony with support of the Executive Governor of Borno State, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum and the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive of NASENI, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu and other dignitaries.
According to him, statistics showed that Nigeria has about 55,000 broken-down tractors, whereas only 7,000-10,000 tractors are functional.
He said the tractor restoration project, under the auspices of the National Asset Restoration Programme, involves the comprehensive restoration of multiple tractors in Borno and its environs for immediate deployment and to strengthen mechanised farming.
Each tractor has been comprehensively rehabilitated, including mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, and structural upgrades making them ready for immediate deployment across farming communities.
The intervention represented a concrete step in rebuilding livelihoods, strengthening food systems, and revitalising rural economies through home-grown engineering solutions, the statement added.
James Emejo
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