American firm John Deere to establish tractor assembly plant in Nigeria

The Federal Government has disclosed the intention of an American tractor manufacturing firm to establish a tractor assembly plant in Nigeria.

This was disclosed in a release from the Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity in the office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha.

The statement noted that the intent of the company was one of the gains of Vice President Kashim Shettima’s trip to the United States.

According to the statement,

It further said that the meeting between the company’s representatives and the Vice President’s team was facilitated by the Chairman of Flour Mills of Nigeria, Mr John Coumantaros.

Also, in attendance was Minister of Agriculture, Sen. Abubakar Kyari; the Consul General of Nigeria in New York, Ambassador Lot Egopija, and others.

Vice President, Sen. Kashim Shettima reportedly said during the meeting,

The Vice President also spoke on the platform provided by the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs) and how investors can leverage it to add value to Nigeria’s agri-value chain.

He also used the opportunity to remind investors of President Tinubu’s declaration of emergency regarding food security earlier in August.

A senior executive at John Deere, Mr Brantley said the endeavour to set up a tractor assembly plant would not necessitate any government investment.

Instead, it calls for credit guarantees to facilitate access to affordable credit for individuals or groups interested in this endeavour.

Mr. Brantley conveyed the company’s eagerness to promptly initiate discussions with Nigerian authorities to realize the goal of establishing the assembly plant.