Enugu State Government says it remains committed to acquiring 1,000 tractors as part of Governor Peter Mbah’s strategy to expand mechanised farming and commercial agriculture.
The state has established the Nortra Tractor Assembly Plant and Service Centre through a partnership with Danish investors.
Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Ubru said the facility would become an important part of the state’s effort to make modern farming equipment more widely available.
Enugu had only a limited number of tractors before the current administration, according to the commissioner.
He said the state had now acquired at least 150 tractors and remained committed to reaching the 1,000 tractor target.
The assembly plant has not yet begun full local assembly, but a warehouse contains completely knocked down tractor components awaiting production.
Ubru said the plant could assemble about 10 tractors a day once operations were fully under way, with room for expansion.
The mechanisation programme is expected to create more than 3,000 jobs.
Employment opportunities would include tractor assembly, driving, servicing, maintenance and related technical activities.
The plant is also expected to supply farm implements including ploughs, harrows, planters and harvesters.
Enugu has already deployed 67 tractors to farms across the state.
The equipment is being leased to farmers at about N70,000 per day.
Government said that was substantially below the roughly N150,000 farmers previously paid to hire similar equipment.
Nortra Managing Director Morten Andersen said the facility had the installed capacity required to support the state’s programme.
The plant also includes a service and repair centre and a training institute for local technicians.
Government sees mechanisation as a central part of its wider effort to commercialise agriculture, develop farm estates and increase food production.
The state said the programme could reduce production costs, expand cultivated acreage and give young people new technical skills connected to modern farming.
